‘We have nothing’: Stoughton family picking up the pieces after devastating fire, explosions at home

STOUGHTON, Mass — A family in Stoughton lost everything after a fire tore through their home Saturday afternoon.

“Everything is just gone,” said Janel Dansby, of Stoughton “I’m trying so hard to be strong for my kids, but it’s hard. It’s hard.”

Dansby said the family was sitting on the couch watching a movie when she got an alert from one of her outdoor surveillance cameras.

“My Ring alarm camera on my phone went off and when I looked, I could see the side outside camera and I could see black smoke,” Dansby said, adding that the family ran outside right away. “We just heard a big boom, then the whole left side of the house kind of just blew up and the flames started engulfing it.”

Stoughton Deputy Fire Chief James Brackett said oxygen tanks in the home exploded and helped to fuel the flames. Dansby said those tanks belonged to her mother who recently passed away.

“The way this building went up so quickly, it was astounding how fast this fire moved,” Bracket said. “I can only say it was probably from those oxygen tanks going off and fueling the intensity of the fire.”

One of the family’s dogs was killed, but everyone got out of the house safely.

The fire and subsequent explosions reduced the home to nothing more than a pile of ash.

“Lost for words right now, we lost everything,” said Corey Kelly, of Stoughton. “I am thankful that all of us are still here and alive.”

The family is staying in a hotel while they work to figure out what their next steps will be.

Already, the community is rallying around them.

“I had a starting goal of $25,000 because I don’t know what it takes to start rebuilding your life,” said Lauren Mahan, who lives across the street from the family and started a Go Fund Me page to help raise some money for them. “You can’t be prepared for something like this, and they lost absolutely everything.”

Dansby said her faith is strong, but it’s being tested now. She is asking for prayers and is humbled by the help they have already received.

“If anybody knows me, I’ve always tried to figure things out on my own, always, always been a giver rather than a receiver,” Dansby said. “But we have nothing, and I’m appreciative of any little thing because we don’t have anything.”The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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