Monday fire destroys Apalachicola home

A devastating Monday afternoon fire destroyed the Apalachicola home of a mom and her three sons.

Neither Natasha Jones nor her eldest son, Josiah Critton, 9, and twin 7-year-old boys Isaiah and Isaac Jones, were hurt in the blaze at 449 Morris Cannon Drive.

Jones, who works behind the pizza counter at the Apalachicola Piggly Wiggly, said she received a call at work at about 4:30 p.m. from neighbors who had witnessed smoke pouring from a back wall behind the kitchen.

“They could see a fire blazing,” said Jones, who called 911 as she rushed home from work.

She said the neighbors secured her permission to break in through a back window and attack the small blaze, but the smoke that poured out made it difficult to see inside.

Firefighters from Apalachicola battled the blaze beginning at 4:51 p.m. and stayed there until 9:30 p.m., said Fire Chief George Watkins.

He said that after they emptied their 5,000 gallons of water in their tanker, they connected to a hydrant inside Magnolia Cemetery, which forced a closure of Bluff Road. Firefighters from Eastpoint were also on hand to help. Watkins said that at about 11 p.m. firefighters returned to the scene to put out any smoldering areas.

Watkins said the fire was a challenge to completely extinguish, as it lingered along the roof line, where there were several layers of insulation. “It didn’t just consume it all of a sudden,” Watkins said. “It was just crawling in the attic from one end to the other.”

Watkins said the state fire marshal has determined that the fire originated on the stove.

The three boys had been staying at a home on Cape San Blas that had been rented for the Christmas holidays by their uncle, Florida State University lineman Joshua Farmer and his three brothers.

Farmer, an FSU junior who has announced plans to enter the NFL draft in April, flew back from the training compound in Arizona to be with the family.

Jones said a representative of the American Red Cross came into town Monday night and provided the family with a voucher.

She has been staying with her aunt, Carol Barfield, at 150 Ninth Street. The boys remain on Cape San Blas but have yet to see the devastation, as Farmer decided it was best not to have them see it on Christmas Eve. 

“They asked if I could salvage the Playstation 5,” said Jones, sobbing, referring to a gift they received last Christmas. Firefighters had gone in and were able to recover it.

This year Jones had bought them a dirt bike and a police car, and those and other gifts were brought outside by the firefighters. “All my Christmas shopping was done,” she said.

Barfield expressed gratitude to her cousin’s neighbors, and Jones’ boyfriend Ramiro, and the valiant effort by the firefighters and law enforcement personnel, all of whom had done their best to fight the blaze.

“They’re to be commended,” she said. “They were the first ones there.”

To reach out to help, call Carol Barfield at (850) 323-0625