By GEORGE OSGOOD
Star-Gazette Wellsboro Bureau
April 19, 2013

EAST SMITHFIELD – The fire that gutted the home of the Tracy Thomas family was stubborn.

Double-plank construction created small compartments and “voids” that let flames spread quickly, but made fighting them difficult.

It took more than four hours for firefighters to bring the March 13 blaze under control. By that time, the family had lost one child, another was critically injured and its home was destroyed as were virtually all the family’s possessions.

Tracy and Bobbie Jo Thomas faced the daunting tasks of burying one child, doing everything in their power to ensure that another survived, finding a new place to live and something to lie down on at night.

A good neighbor has taken care of that last part. And a lot more.

“We told them, when they got ready, we would be ready for them,” said Brandon Hurley, manager of Carolina Wholesale Furniture in East Smithfield. “And we are still ready.”

Hurley said Carolina Wholesale Furniture would donate whatever furniture the Thomases need to start over in their new apartment at 163B Main St. in Osceola.

It started with a contact from Seeds of Hope, a group that represents area churches, people interested in helping others and the Tioga County Department of Human Services.

“They came to us and they said, ‘We need some beds for this family’ and they explained the situation,” Hurley said.

“At that point in time, the family didn’t have a house or an apartment yet,” he said. “I told them, ‘Gosh, if there’s anything else those people need, I would be glad to donate it.’ And so that’s how this came about.

“I can’t tell you I donated this or that,” Hurley said. “We are just going to do whatever they need.”

And that’s about everything, so complete was the fire damage. It’s just a matter of the Thomases showing up in East Smithfield with a list.

“They haven’t been in yet to select pieces,” Hurley said. “I don’t have an inventory of what they don’t have. I told them I would give them bedroom chests, a dining table and chairs, beds. Whatever they need, they can have. It’s just a matter of meeting with them.”

Hurley said Carolina Wholesale Furniture was donating the items as a good neighbor.

“We try,” he said.