In Orangeburg County more than 50 children have to find a new place to go after a fire ripped through a Cordova Daycare this weekend. Fortunately no one was hurt. The blaze happened when no one was inside. Now the daycare's owner is determined to move forward to keep serving the community. Years of personal and financial investment, was gone in a matter of hours.
"It's still unbelievable," said daycare owner Tara Simmons. "I keep saying, 'When am I going to wake up from this dream?'"
The nightmare Simmons is talking about happened early Saturday, when flames ripped through her Cordova daycare. Simmons calls the facility her life's work.
"I've said several times over and over here lately, that you can have something one day and the next couple of minutes or seconds it's gone," said Simmons.
The intense fire burned almost everything in it's path, from school books to a school bus. Just about everything was destroyed. The only things spared were a few toys in the backyard.
Amanda Fanning and her family live across the street from the daycare. Her two children spent time at the center. Now Fanning says many people in the town don't know where to turn.
"They learned a lot of things over there and it was very convenient for the people in this town," said Fanning.
Orangeburg County investigators don't suspect foul play in the blaze. They blame the fire on an electrical short. Despite the building being a complete loss, Simmons wants to rebuild and knows things could have been worse.
"It's just a lot to deal with, but I trust and believe in that God is going to bring me through this," said Simmons. "I'm sure ."
Now Simmons is trying to figure out how to make that dream a reality so she can keep serving the community.
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