Family counting blessings, picking up pieces after fire

Some family photos, sports memorabilia and a small guardian angel figurine are a few of the salvageable items left in the wake of a fire that badly damaged the Tamplin Farms subdivision home of Auburn University track and field coach Ralph Spry Tuesday.

The fire, which has been attributed to a lightning strike, did not result in any injuries.

Spry was not at home at the time of the incident but his wife, Anne, was there. She recalls the moments just after hearing lightning strike her home during a storm Tuesday afternoon.

“I was on my laptop in a bedroom when I heard the thunder and felt a charge come off the computer,” said Anne Spry.

That’s when she checked the other rooms of the home and didn’t realize her home was actually on fire until the home’s smoke alarms sounded. “I tried to call 911, but the phones were out.

“There was only thick, thick smoke,” said Anne Spry, who said she grabbed her Yorkshire terrier, Lacie, and got out of the house.

The Spry’s home was almost completely engulfed. Anne Spry is still grateful to have escaped with her life.

“We have some of our special family momentos, and we’re grateful for that,” she said.

Coach Spry was on an annual fishing trip with his brother, Ty Spry, in Florida at the time of the fire.

Wednesday, Ty Spry was among the group of family, friends, neighbors and students helping salvage items at his brother’s home.

But Ty Spry says his brother isn’t the kind of guy who is going to waste time feeling sorry for himself.

“It’s happened already, so what you have to do now is simply deal with it and move on,” Ty Spry said.

And that’s exactly what Anne Spry plans on doing.

“We’re going to rebuild our home right here,” she said as she stood in the charred entrance of her home.