Community rallies around Dickson County family after they lose new home in fire

DICKSON, Tenn. (WKRN) — A family in Dickson County is looking for help after their home burned down in a fire on Sunday.

Robert and Briya Hinegardner, and their two daughters, lost everything they owned in the fire, which fully engulfed their home in a flash.  

“Within I want to say 2 minutes, everything was up in flames,” Robert told News 2 on Monday. 

The Hinegardners had just moved to their Dickson home six months ago. They say they haven’t even met some of their neighbors yet. 

“You’re standing there one day, and the next day you’re watching everything you’ve ever earned burn up,” said Briya. “We were blessed to have some neighbors, that we actually hadn’t even met yet, run across the street and see my kids, because they were just in pajamas, and grab them and take them in their house so they could quit watching their house burn.” 

Robert said the fire started from a gas leak on his old Harley motorcycle. He was reportedly working on the bike in his garage when the fire sparked. 

“I had to run and slide out from underneath my garage door. I kept all my ammo in my garage, so I had all my ammo rounds and everything firing around my head as I was trying to get out from the doors,” he detailed. 

Given how fast the fire spread and that the entire family was inside the home at the time, the Hinegardners consider themselves lucky to be alive. 

In just one day, support from friends and strangers alike has been flooding in. 

“Highly blessed. The community has just reached out overwhelmingly,” said an emotional Robert. “We can’t thank the community enough for the outreach they’ve done, all the help they’ve provided.” Robert is an Army veteran, while Briya is a middle school teacher in Sumner County. Their two daughters are just 11 and five years old.

As they sort out insurance matters and figure out where they will live going forward, their immediate needs include clothing and gift cards.“We don’t have a bed, we don’t have a mattress. We don’t have any of that,” said Briya. 

“My main concern is to make sure the kids have got somewhere to lay their head down and I can lay my head down on the floor. But I want my kids to have somewhere to lay their heads down at night,” Robert continued.