Witnesses were devastated when a massive fire broke out at a duplex in Ruston, Louisiana, with one neighbor saying that she was particularly shocked when a firefighter brought out an item that was unscathed amid the debris: a Bible.
J. Thomas described the scary scene that unfolded on Wednesday night, with flames quickly engulfing the building. But she said that the presence of the Bible gave her a fair bit of hope and internal peace amid the chaos.
“The crackling. Glass breaking,” she said. “There were flames coming out of the top of the building. There were flames coming out of the windows.”
Then, she saw one of the firefighters bring the Bible out of the blaze, KNOE-TV reported.
“There was a bible that one of the men brought out, one of the firefighters,” she said.
Thomas said that the Bible’s survival amid the flames left her feeling hopeful and as though she should “never fear and stand strong,” as KNOE reported.
While the fire was extinguished before it reached Thomas’ home, this isn’t her first experience with such a tragedy, as she has been through two previous fires. Thomas added that it is difficult to watch her neighbor lose everything.
“Nobody wants to start their year off with a tragedy,” she said.