Jordan Rubright woke up at midnight on July 5 to the sound of his 1-year-old Labrador barking ferociously.
Unusual for the dog, Rubright walked downstairs to investigate. Looking out the kitchen window, his eyes met a fiery red glow through the curtains.
The neighbor's house was on fire.
"Our neighbor was outside yelling, I saw that his trash can was on fire," Rubright said.
Rubright, along with his wife, two daughters and pet dog hurriedly left the house, anxious theirs would be the next engulfed in flames. And it was.
Shortly after midnight July 5, when 4th of July fireworks in Burt's Crossing subdivision off Hwy. 9 had subsided into smoke, Dawson County Emergency Services would respond to three structure fires on the main drive of the subdivision. An hour later, all that remained were the frames of the houses at 38, 48, and 60 Burt's Crossing Drive.
Jordan and his wife Amy lived at number 38, which sits on the corner near a cul-de-sac. They had moved into the house only three weeks prior with daughters aged 16 and 20, and half of their belongings were still in boxes.
"We lost everything we own, everything we've accumulated since we got married over 25 years ago," Rubright said Friday. "We have to start all over, we lost stuff in the fire we can never replace."
Rubright and his wife were both in the Air Force, and Amy currently works as a nurse.
Friends helped them sift through the rubble of their home on Thursday, unearthing Amy's wedding ring in a jewelry box where she kept it for safekeeping.
The outpouring of support from long time friends, as well as people he's never met, has been astounding, Rubright said.
But it will be a slow process to rebuild their lives.
The family is currently staying in the Quality Inn and Suites on Beartooth Parkway. They hope to soon move into a former parsonage at a local church.
The Red Cross was able to give the family Visa gift cards to purchase basics, as the only clothing they have is what they woke up wearing.
Amy Rubright's sister set up a GoFundMe page for the family, and it reached over $4,000 in less than two days.
The fires were ruled an accident by the state fire marshal's office. Glenn Allen, a spokesman for the office, said that the homeowner at 48 Burt's Crossing had disposed of fireworks in an outdoor trash can, and they reignited. He said no charges will be issued from his office.
Rubright said he hopes for justice after the carelessness of his neighbor, though Dawson County will also not be issuing charges.
Due to the transition of moving to a new home, Rubright said his homeowner's insurance will only cover a small portion of what he lost.
"I'm a little perturbed. I'm a veteran, I love America, I'm very patriotic," he said. "But it was just too much for a small neighborhood. When you take on that responsibility of fireworks, you're responsible for what happens after. It's going to take a lot of time and money to get this resolved."