Members of the Cain family, from left, Sarah, 13, mother Sanna, Michael, 11, and Nathan 16, look over presents during an Operation FireH.E.A.T. (Holiday Emergency Assistance Team) event in Henderson Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. The family of five lost everything when their home was destroyed by fire on Dec. 28.
Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 | 2 a.m.
John and Sanna Cain were relaxing with their family and a friend who was visiting from out of town on a typical Monday evening, just a couple days after Christmas, when they heard a frantic knock at the door. It was their neighbor, who had noticed smoke coming from their Henderson home. He wanted to warn them and make sure they were okay.
The Cain family had not heard or smelled anything unusual while they were inside their home, but they quickly evacuated and called the fire department. It wasn’t long before the roof of the house caved in and the home went up in flames, Sanna Cain recalls.
“We were sitting in the living room with a fire overhead and we didn’t know,” she said Sunday. “It was probably one of the scariest things we’ve ever been through. … It was a humbling experience to know that we made it out.”
The Henderson Fire Department put the fire out and rescued the family’s pets (two dogs and a cat), but the house was a complete loss due to significant smoke damage. Fire investigators said the blaze originated in the chimney, Sanna Cain said.
“We lost everything,” she said, on the verge of tears.
The fire also took out the Christmas gifts the Cains had just bought their three children, 16-year-old Nathan, 13-year-old Sarah and 11-year-old Michael.
That’s where Operation FireH.E.A.T. (Holiday Emergency Assistance Team) stepped in. The nonprofit organization, which was started by fire dispatchers in Las Vegas' Fire Alarm Office and has been around for seven years, donates Christmas gifts to families who experience tragic fires from Dec. 1 to Jan. 15. Operation FireH.E.A.T also takes families like the Cains shopping for basic living necessities — such as toiletries, clothing and school supplies — after a fire to make them more comfortable.
The Cain family is the seventh family the organization has helped this holiday season, according to a news release.
On Sunday afternoon, members of the organization, a group of about 15 volunteers and firefighters who responded to the initial blaze gathered at a Henderson fire station to load a fire truck with toys and gifts for the family.
From left, John, Sarah, Nathan, Michael and Sanna Cain are pictured after members of Operation FireH.E.A.T. took them shopping for basic necessities. The Cains' home was destroyed in a fire Dec. 28, 2015, and the nonprofit organization bought them toiletries, clothing and school supplies as well as providing Christmas gifts.
When firefighters arrived, blasting sirens and emergency lights, in the quiet Henderson neighborhood where the family is staying with friends, the children were in shock.
“What’s going on?” Michael said with a grin on his face as he walked over to the fire truck.
It wasn’t long before the children figured it out and began searching through the pile of unwrapped presents sitting on the back of the truck as if it were Christmas morning again. They received several gifts, including a tablet for each child, board games, movies, indoor sky diving passes, Legos and more.
Michael was so excited when he saw the movie “The Flash,” which he said was on his Christmas list, that he ran away and said he was going to watch right away. His parents were just as thrilled as they helped look through the gifts.
“Oh my God,” Sanna Cain kept saying. “This is amazing!”
After sorting through the gifts, the firefighters drove the kids around in the fire truck and let them spray water out of the heavy hose.
Jayson Calhoun, executive board member of Operation FireH.E.A.T., said it is a great feeling to turn a negative situation into a positive and to bring Christmas back to families.
“Personally, as a firefighter, it is horrendous to show up to someone’s house, especially during the holidays when they have lost everything,” he said. “It really is giving them the first step onto their new life. It is such an amazing feeling to be here and watch them through their first step to recovery.”
When asked what’s next for the family, Sanna Cain said they are looking for a new house to rent. In the meantime, they will be staying at a friend’s house.
“We’re trying to go for a little bit of normality for the kids. They’re still young and we want to keep it as normal as we can,” she said. “We still have sports, we still have band, we still have school, we still have work. … We are just trying to stay as normal as possible, if that’s possible.”
The family said they are grateful for the donations from Operation FireH.E.A.T., and Sanna Cain said she hopes to give back one day.
“We feel so fortunate to be part of this organization and hope that one day we can return the favor because its amazing … it really is,” she said.
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