Villa Rica family loses home, business to fire days before Christmas: 'I’m devastated'

VILLA RICA, Ga. - A Villa Rica family is working to rebuild after a weekend house fire destroyed their home and business just days before Christmas.

The fire left little more than the front frame of the home standing. The smell of smoke still lingered in the air as crews assessed the damage.

What they're saying:

Stephanie Skrzypek said she and her family were away Friday night when the fire broke out.

"Friday night, we were going to Marietta. It’s a tradition for us to go see Christmas lights. We have got to Hiram, and we got a call that fire trucks were coming up the driveway. Fortunately, all four of my kids, me and husband were together, and nobody were here," Skrzypek said.

The family immediately turned around, but by the time they returned, the home was already fully engulfed.

"It took us about an hour to get home, and everything was fully engulfed. The house was a complete loss," she said.

Fire crews were able to rescue the family’s two dogs from inside the home, but Skrzypek said she lost her cat of 10 years.

"I did lose my cat of 10 years," she said.

As she looked at what remained of the structure, Skrzypek described the devastation.

"I’m devastated at this," she said. "This whole side of the home is gone, pretty much."

Investigators later determined the fire was caused by a lithium battery.

"It was a Lithium battery, from a controller or a gaming controller that exploded. I mean, just a Lithium battery," Skrzypek said.

The fire also destroyed Skrzypek’s in-home bakery, which she said had been her livelihood for a decade.

"I had an in-home bakery. But it’s okay, it’ll be back," she said. "It was my livelihood. I had it for 10 years. When we built the house three years ago, my husband put my own bakery in there. I was pretty proud of it."

Despite the loss, Skrzypek said she is grateful her family was not inside the home when the fire started.

"I’m just counting my blessings that my kids weren’t here or my husband weren’t here," she said. "I can deal with this being gone, but I can’t deal with them being gone."

The family plans to rebuild on the same property.

"Rebuild. We’re going to rebuild it, just the way it was, maybe a little tweaks," Skrzypek said. "Yes, this is my family’s land. It’s been in my family almost 100 years and I’m not going anywhere."

She said they still plan to celebrate the holiday with family.

"We’re going to have a Christmas with our family," Skrzypek said.

Skrzypek said the community support has been overwhelming.

"I’m feeling overwhelmed. I’ve had so much support and love. I’m just so overwhelmed with it. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know how to feel," she said.

What you can do:

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family rebuild.