When lightning struck Battalion Fire Chief Brian Johnson’s home on the evening of September 25, the DOD firefighter at Eglin Air Force Base found himself on the other side of an emergency for the first time in his career.

• Johnson and his wife Kim lost the house they built in 2007, along with 34 years of irreplaceable memories. The couple, who have lived in Crestview for 25 years and raised two children in the home, now face the difficult process of rebuilding their lives with support from a community that has rallied around them. 

The fire started around 6:30 p.m. during an evening thunderstorm. Brian was home alone watching TV when he heard what sounded like lightning hitting a tree behind the house.

“I heard the breaker trip in the laundry room, so I went and checked on it, and then I started walking around the house to see if I noticed the power being out or if anything was scorched or damaged,” Brian said. “And before I made it halfway through the house, I heard another breaker trip.”  

When he returned to the utility room, smoke was pouring from the breaker box. He immediately called 911 and continued investigating. By the time he reached the living room, water was gushing through the ceiling.

• “It was like if you turned on all the faucets, all of your showers, as much water as you could think, just pouring down through the ceiling,” he said.

Kim was in Boston on a planned New England trip with a friend when she received the call.

“I could just tell, knowing that he’s a firefighter, the panic in his voice. So I knew it was pretty serious,” Kim said. “I was terrified. I was scared. I think I was having a nervous breakdown at one point because my body was just shaking so bad and I was hyperventilating.”

Brian managed to get the couple’s dogs out of the house and retrieve two emergency fire boxes containing important documents and Kim’s jewelry box before firefighters arrived. The response time was approximately 12 to 13 minutes due to the rural location in North Crestview, compared to the standard five to six minutes in more urban areas. 

• “As soon as they made entry into the front door and those flames shot through the roof, I called Kim back and told her that we’re going to lose the house,” Brian said. 

Multiple fire departments responded, including crews from Crestview, North Okaloosa, Eglin Fire Department and Holt. It took approximately four hours to extinguish the blaze. The fire marshal’s office deemed the house a total loss.

Adding to the family’s distress, one of their dogs escaped during the chaos and was missing for over 12 hours before returning the next morning. The dog had sustained injuries and required emergency veterinary care. 

For Brian, the experience provided a perspective he had never considered in his years of emergency response work. 

• “As firefighters or as emergency responders we go on a call, we fight the fire, we put the fire out, we help the family as best as we can,” he said. “But you don’t realize what you leave behind – you are leaving behind a family that is devastated. They don’t have a house to live in and they don’t own anything anymore.”

At that moment, Brian said, he found himself truly homeless with no clothes, no money and no property.

The fire destroyed items that cannot be replaced: baby pictures of their two children, wedding photos, Kim’s wedding dress, baby clothes from when their children came home from the hospital, and 34 years of Christmas ornaments the couple had collected from their travels. 

“I’m very thankful that my husband and my dogs are okay, first and foremost,” Kim said. “But once the emergency and tragedy passes and you start thinking of the things that you did lose – it may just be stuff, but it’s our stuff.”

• She added: “I wanted to be the one to decide that I didn’t want those things anymore. Not a tragedy to come and take it from me.”

The couple has been overwhelmed by community support. Approximately 30 off-duty firefighters showed up the night of the fire to help. In the days that followed, firefighters returned to board up windows during rainstorms and help salvage items from the damaged home.

Neighbors the Johnsons had never met appeared at the property offering assistance. Community members brought meals for approximately two weeks. A local businessperson provided short-term housing through an Airbnb rental. Someone started a GoFundMe account while another organized a meal train. 

Kim recalled how a local dog sitter helped when their injured dog was found. The veterinary office was closed, but the woman knew the vet and obtained medication to treat the dog until they could get her to their regular veterinarian.

• “And this is a woman that we had never met before that simply came forward because she wanted to help,” Kim said. 

Support came from across the country and around the world, with people reaching out from Germany, Korea, Cuba, Jamaica and approximately 20 different states.

“I would’ve never thought I was even deserving of it, much less to think that I had that many friends or family and people within the community that would reach out,” Brian said. 

A local builder who is also a Crestview firefighter offered to guide the family through the rebuilding process, even if they chose not to hire him, warning them about potential scams and overcharges that often target disaster victims. 

• The couple’s two adult children, both serving in the military, also lost irreplaceable items including all four family members’ yearbooks and various awards. 

As the Johnsons discussed rebuilding plans, their son, who is stationed in Virginia, asked if they could rebuild on the same property. Kim said he told them he always wanted to be able to come home to the same place.

“When he said that he just wanted to always be able to come back home — we knew that’s what we were going to do,” Kim said. “We reassured him that this would be his home forever, it’s just going to be a different house.”

Brian said the experience has fundamentally changed how he will approach emergency calls in the future. As a fire chief, he is responsible for terminating incidents and returning crews to service, but he now realizes the importance of taking time with victims before leaving a scene. 

• “I know from now on, I’ll have to take a minute and make it personal — to go to that person or that family and see if there is anything I can do for them,” Brian said. “I actually had firefighters come back to our house the next day that were off duty just to talk to me. I definitely need to be more conscious of that and to make it more personal and not so robotic – just be more compassionate.”

The couple acknowledged the emotional toll of the loss. Kim described waking up around 1 a.m. and mentally walking through every corner and closet of their former home, remembering items that are gone. Brian had a breakdown in a store while trying to buy basic clothing after the fire.

But their different personalities have helped them support each other through the crisis.

“The times that I’m low, Brian’s there. And then the times that he’s been low, I’ve been able to be there for him,” Kim said. “It’s a good balance. I know we will come out on the other side, better than it was.”

• Kim reflected on how the tragedy opened their eyes to the community around them. 

“You get in your everyday routine and you just don’t really realize the world around you or in the community around you,” Kim said. “You’re just in your own little bubble. It was eye opening when this happened, to see the people that came out and to know that so many people cared about us.”

Those wishing to support the Johnson family can contribute to their GoFundMe account, which remains open. The couple’s immediate needs have been met through community assistance as they work with their insurance company on the next steps. 

For Brian, the outpouring of support has been life changing.

“This is life changing, as in, now I want to move through life paying it forward,” he said.