West Weber couple shares message of gratitude after house fire

WEST WEBER — A couple is trying to find a new place to live after a fire damaged their house the morning of Christmas Eve.

Kelsee and Carson Bishop's home of nine months has a long history. The property is owned by Carson Bishop's side of the family.

"They call it the Hancock love shack," Kelsee Bishop said. "A lot of people have lived in this house. They rent it out to the newlyweds."

The Bishops planned to celebrate the holidays at the small, white house on the corner — until the morning of Christmas Eve, when she woke up to the smell of smoke.

"I could kind of hear some popping or crackling going on, didn't know what it was so I got back up and took a look out the window…and saw that his truck was lit up orange," Kelsee Bishop said.

She yelled for her husband and they quickly got out of the burning house.

"He started throwing snowballs on it to try to keep it at bay," she said.

Kelsee Bishop said she didn't know what items to bring with her, she was thinking about getting herself and her husband out safely.

"In the moment, you don't know exactly what you're going to grab. Your house is on fire, what's the three things you're going to grab?" she said.

Their house is no longer inhabitable, deemed unsafe to go inside. Kelsee Bishop said it'll likely be bulldozed.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

"The fire marshal hasn't told us for sure," she said. "He said it would be pretty hard to pinpoint what exactly it is just because it's such an old house."

The Bishops said they're being realistic about the situation. They're living with Kelsee Bishop's parents until they find a new place to live.

"It happens to people and I guess we're just some of those people now," she said.

They're grateful for the first responders.

"When the firefighters gave us the go ahead to go in, they moved us out in under 30 minutes," she said. "Ninety percent of the belongings that we have, we were able to get out."

Their couches, blankets and clothing are scorched, but one sentimental item was saved.

"My Christus statue was in that room where the fire was kind of centralized. ... It ended up on the back of the trailer," Kelsee Bishop said. "At least Jesus made it through it — it's his birthday, he's the reason for the season."

Many of their belongings are coated in ash, but the couple still celebrated Christmas together, and they feel more connected than ever with their community.

"We're pretty blessed and lucky that, with the situation that we had, for the amount of love and support that we've gotten, and that we came out with what we did and we're safe," Kelsee said.

A GoFundMe* was set up by the Bishop's friend to help them during their time of need.

"If anybody wants to do anything for us, I would say give back to the firefighters and the policemen," Kelsee Bishop said.

*KSL.com does not assure that any money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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