Christian Peterson
Reporter@riverbendnews.org
Married couple Jeff Schwartz and Joelle Clark had planned to spend a romantic weekend in Tampa to celebrate both their marriage and Clark's birthday, which was on Valentine’s Day, Monday, Feb. 14. After a wonderful dinner the couple retired to their lodging for the evening. At around midnight Monday morning, the couple received a call from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, revealing their house was on fire and that authorities were searching for survivors.
After confirming that the couple were the only two people who would have been present in the house, the two began their journey back home. Schwartz says they arrived home at around 5 a.m. and the White Springs Fire Department had the fire mostly under control at that point. Detective Singleton reported to the couple that cause of the fire was electrical.
“Everything is gone,” Schwartz said. “Just ankle-deep ash and water.” Along with the loss of their earthly possessions, the couple also lost their dogs, cats and bird. Schwartz said everything they owned from “birth to now” is gone.
However, White Springs is not an unloving community and immediately stepped in. The couple’s neighbors came over early in the morning to help bury the animals, which is something, Schwartz said, you don’t do unless you truly care about someone. Clark also started a GoFundMe page, requesting donations to help rebuild their lives. In addition, Suwannee Hardware and Feed also began a fundraiser to help the couple get back on their feet.
Those wishing to donate to Schwartz and Clark can do so by visiting gofundme.com and typing “Our home was destroyed by fire” into the search bar. Donations can also be dropped off at Suwannee Hardware and Feed, which is located at 10572 Bridge St., in White Springs. If one is not able to stop by, but wants to make a donation, you can call the store at (386) 397- 2551 and they will run a card to forward money to the family. To directly contact Schwartz for more information or to offer a different donation, call (352) 505-1242.
So far, the couple's GoFundMe page has accumulated a total of $3,060 from 32 donations.