PANAMA CITY— There has been a bout of house fires recently in Bay County. One fire destroyed the home of a prominent local political voice.
Tho Bishop is the chairman of the Bay County Republican Party of Florida. His family lost their house and two pets to an electrical fire on Aug. 31.
The family left to go to a birthday party and later returned to a scorched home. There’s a GoFundMe set up for the family that was 96% to its goal as of Sept. 8.
Tragedy also struck at the Riverside subdivision on Sept. 7, when the house of Ian and Catherine Bland burned. Photos show a fire burning through the roof of their home.
The family is currently staying in a hotel paid for by their church. Calls went out for donations of clothing for the family on Facebook. Donations can be dropped off at Hiland Park Baptist Church.
There’s currently a GoFundMe set up by a neighbor to support the family. As of Aug. 8, it’s raised $2,055.
Another fire broke out at a house on Ethlyn Road in Parker on Sept. 7. The family made it out safely, with damage largely being limited to an exterior-facing room.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay County GOP chair among those whose homes were lost in recent house fires across the county
Reporting by Dylan Gentile, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
