HOFFMAN — Esther Jones was wheeled into her new home late Friday morning by the man who saved her life: state Rep. Dean Arp.
“This is beautiful,” she said as Arp pushed her through the two-bedroom, two-bathroom home built just a few miles south at the Cavco facility in the Richmond County Industrial Park near Hamlet. “I love it.”
Before getting to see the inside, Arp helped Jones cut the ceremonial ribbon at the conclusion of a short ceremony by the N.C. Manufactured and Modular Homebuilders Association.
Brad Lovin, executive director of NCMHA, is a Richmond County native.
Esther Jones gets help from Rep. Dean Arp cutting the ribbon at a dedication for her new home.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
“This day is a reminder of why we do what we do,” said Billy Owens, president of NCMHA. “At the end of the day, it’s not just about building houses or selling houses, but it’s about creating places where people can feel safe, where they can rebuild or move forward.”
REP TO THE RESCUE
Arp, a Republican from Union County in the N.C. House of Representatives, said he was running late on his way to a meeting with Duke Energy back in February when he noticed smoke rising above the treeline on U.S. 1.
As he and his wife, Anne, approached, Arp said he saw smoke was coming from a home and he turned around. Arp said his wife ran to the mailbox to get the address to tell the fire department where to go.
“At that time, all I saw was the front screen door just barely open up … and that movement caught my attention,” Arp recalled. “And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s somebody in there.’”
The politician jumped out of his truck and ran inside the burning home.
Rep. Dean Arp gives Esther Jones a kiss on the cheek, several months after saving her life from a burning home.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
“...and I saw her face … she was terrified,” Arp said, remembering how Jones was caught up in a blanket and couldn’t roll out. “So I reached down and I just grabbed her and said ‘We’ve got to get out of here.’”
Within three minutes, Arp said the home was fully engulfed in flames.
“It wasn’t me,” Arp said after reciting a verse from the book of Psalms. “I was just there in the right time. This is God’s blessing for Ms. Esther.”
COMING TOGETHER
After pulling being pulled from the burning home, Arp said Jones was worried that her cancer medication had been destroyed, but he told her not to worry: “God will provide.”
“And then look at this,” Arp said.
The new home was set up on family land about a mile south of Jones' former residence.
“Getting to know Ms. Esther and her family over the past few months has been such a blessing to me and Anne, you just can’t imagine,” Arp said. “Ms. Esther inspires you when you talk to her — her strength and her kindness and her determination are remarkable.”
Arp presented Jones with her first housewarming gift — a new Bible, since hers was lost in the fire.
Koren Hailey, Jones’ niece who lives in Angier, said she was thankful for what everyone has done.
“It takes a village and y’all were our village,” Hailey said. “Cause we did not know what we were going to do.”
“For our association, it’s been an honor to help bring this new chapter to the life of the Jones family,” said Owens. “It’s been a true membership-wide effort and we’re just grateful to have played a role alongside so many people who care.”
Arp said he was “in awe” of how many people, businesses and organizations pulled together to get Jones in a new home.
“Seeing so many people come together to lift up Ms. Esther and her family … that right there is the love and compassion of the people of North Carolina are known for,” Arp said. “From helping victims of (a) hurricane like Helene… to replacing with a new home, one who has lost everything in a fire … that’s who North Carolina is — friends and neighbors.”
See more photos on the RO's Facebook page, and a video on the Visit Richmond County page.
