On December 17th, Tina Caulfield, co-owner of the family business Sweet Finds, was working late as usual figuring the payroll and getting ready for the Cops for Kids event that was to take place on the 19th. She says she rarely gets out of the store before 10pm each night and had been working a few hours after closing when she stopped and went to the makeshift kitchen to put some dinner in the microwave for herself. Her 9-year-old companion Coco, as always, was by her side. Coco was rescued from the ARC in Lacon as a puppy and is one of the family. He goes to work with them every day and greets the customers when they come into the store. Some of them pet him and even rub his head for good luck, hoping that they will find a really good bargain that day.

It had been a long day and Tina fell asleep in front of the TV in the employee’s breakroom. She was awakened by Coco’s insistent barking and nudging her arm. Thinking he had to go outside to relieve himself, she got up and followed him towards the door. When she passed her office, she looked over and saw that it was on fire. She immediately remembered they had just purchased fire blankets, so she grabbed one and put it over the flames. The blanket extinguished the flames for a few seconds, but when she took it off it ignited again and began spreading through the room and up the wall. She tried repeatedly to smother the flames and then began filling containers with water to throw on the fire. By then the fire was so hot that her arms, forehead, and eyes were burned. She knew it was no use, and Coco was barking frantically and going in circles, trying to lead her to the door to get out! She was burned and soaking wet. It was extremely cold out that night, but she and Coco ran across the street to the ambulance building and frantically banged on the door, but no one was there. Remembering the Circle K was open 24 hours, she ran there and told them to call the fire department—Sweet Finds was on fire.

The Fire Department was there soon and began tackling the fire with everything they had. At one point, they thought they had the fire out and were ready to leave when it started up again. The firemen believed the fire was trapped between the wall, spreading to the roof, and when some of the wall fell, the oxygen flamed the fire and it spread like wildfire. By then, it was a 4 alarm fire, and fire departments from all around the area were called in. The brave firemen fought the fire all night in the freezing cold as the walls and roof crumbled and fell. By midday, there was nothing standing but part of one wall. The family had stood there helplessly as they watched the business, which they had just spent a year remodeling and had only been open for one year, disappear into the ashes.

It was determined that a space heater was responsible for starting the fire. Tina says they had bought two of them online and that was the first time they had used one. Later, when they looked up the model of the heater, there was a warning: STOP USE IMMEDIATELY–WILL START FIRES!

Tina is sure that if Coco hadn’t woken her up that fateful night and kept urging her towards the door  to get out of the building, they both would have perished. “Coco knew we were in trouble and he got me out of there just in time. He is my hero; he literally saved my life.”

The faith-filled family vowed to go forth and rebuild their business at the same location. Tina says; “It will take time to get the insurance straightened out, get permits, and rebuild, but we’re determined to do it!” They hope to have the new store open by next year, but in the meantime, they have moved Sweet Finds back to their original store downtown and opened it on March 28th. They then moved Threadz, their clothing store, across the street. Their 3rd store, Solez, a classy shoe store, will remain down the street in the next block.

“We are thankful to all the wonderful town’s people for their concern, their kind words, and their support. We’ll be back, Chillicothe, better than ever!”