Father, home on day off, gets family out of burning house

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A family’s home was destroyed by a fire on Monday, but luckily the father was home from work and able to get his family to safety.

Relatives of Justin Traywick said he normally works on Mondays but was off this week.

They call it a blessing that he was at his Hemby Bridge home when the fire started.

Traywick’s Uncle John Fagala said his nephew went inside to check on the youngest son, who was napping and smelled smoke.

“He said it was just beyond control at that point so it was it was a little crazy,” Fagala said.

Within minutes, the Traywicks lost nearly everything from fire and smoke damage, Fagala said.

“The mattress caught on fire and the sheets and all that, so it was just really more than he could control,” he said. “But he did make sure that he could get his family out safely.”

Traywick is recovering from third-degree burns on his hands from protecting his family from the flames and trying to put out the fire.

His wife, Carol Ann Traywick, their two sons, their dog, and one of their cats escaped unharmed.

Their other cat died in the fire.

Fagala said they are grateful for the community’s support.

“We’re also grateful for the community and how they’ve responded, and everybody’s kind of picking up a piece of their life and trying to help them to rebuild that,” Fagala said.

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