Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - Just a week after area fire fighters stepped up to the plate to collect money for the 55^th annual Crusade For Children, one local firefighter’s family needs some help of their own, after their home was destroyed by fire. 

Fire Captain Mike Long never thought fire would hit him like this.

Fire Captain Mike Long said, “I’m not used to this.  I’m not supposed to be on this side.  I’m supposed to be here in fire gear saying ‘everything will be okay...’  now I really understand what people go through.”

Long is no stranger to fire.  He’s been fighting fires for 24 years.  He’s a captain with the Camp Taylor Fire Department, and a volunteer for Okolona’s Fire Department.

His wife, Jeri, comes from a firefighting family, and their three boys: Quint, Pierce and Oren are all named after fire trucks.

But Wednesday, fire trucks from four fire departments responded when fire broke out at the long’s home in Fairdale.

Long says the fire started because of something he continuously preaches against; leaving a hot lawnmower inside a garage.  He says after mowing the lawn with a lawn tractor, he let it cool down in the driveway for a few minutes and then wheeled it into the garage. 

Just minutes later, the garage was on fire.

Fire Captain Mike Long said, “When I came down the steps, as soon as I cleared my front door, the garage door was open and smoke was just pouring out and I knew it was bad.”

Bad enough that the fire raged from the garage, through the attic, and then the rest of the house in minutes. 

A structural engineer will have to determine if the house is at all salvageable.

Fire Captain Mike Long said, “About the only thing I was able to salvage, a picture of me and her at an anniversary dance.  That’s the only thing I was able to salvage out of the garage.”

And one other thing salvaged: George, their son’s Guinea Pig.  He was found rustling around under debris in the long’s kitchen just yesterday.

But the house may not be saved; a house the Long family had called their “dream home.”

Fire Captain Mike Long said, “It was everything we had ever imagined.  To stand here and see it gone, words don’t explain it.”

Camp Taylor and Okolona fire departments are raising funds for the family, along with donations of supplies. 

If you’d like to donate, call the Camp Taylor fire department at 502-966-5001.