news-record.com

HIGH POINT — Rebuilding Lee and Chris Griffith's fire-damaged home has been
much slower than a project by TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crew, but
the spirit of a community coming together to help a family in need is hard to
top. Seven months after the house was gutted by fire, the Griffiths are expected
to move into a new home within the next few days. "Isn't it beautiful?" said
Chris Griffith. "It's more than we could have ever dreamed."

The house has been made over inside and out. Though the floor plan remains
the same, the house doesn't look at all the way their former house looked when
it was hit by fire Nov. 12, she said. The house also will have new furniture.

Husband Lee, who is wheel-chair bound and had to be rescued from the fire,
looked at the rebuilt home with a tear in his eye. "It better than if I had done
it myself," said the former building contractor. "I'm astonished at the quality
of work."

The restoration project brought volunteers from different segments of the
community together. "I've never been so 'awed' — that's the only word I can
think of," said Chris. "Most of these people (who helped) didn't even know us,"
she said.

Members of High Point's First Baptist Church, employees at High Point Bank
and Trust and other volunteers were involved in restoring the house — and the
hope of a happier life — for the Griffiths. Lee has had several illnesses in
recent years.

There wasn't any insurance on the home, and rebuilding a house heavily
damaged by fire and water appeared to be impossible, Chris said. Her fellow
employees at High Point Bank learned of the fire and sprang into action. They
solicited donations; established a W eb site telling about the Griffiths'
misfortune; and held a barbecue to raise more money. "I've never seen a business
that looks after their employees the way High Point Bank does," said Marshall
Paine, one of the project leaders from First Baptist.

Bank customer Dan Odom saw a fli er about the Griffiths' need for help. "I
saw this as an opportunity for our church (First Baptist) to help out," said
Gloria Odom.

"At first we were going to rebuild the back porch and handicap ramp," she
said. After seeing all of the work needed, she declared, "Mercy, no way.'' More
needed to be done. Not only did the First Baptist Disaster Relief team get
involved, the Baptist Men's Disaster Relief's Region V headquarters in Asheboro
was asked to assist.

"We have had 168 different people work on the house that we know of," Paine
said. "Also, 539 days were worked ... Any way you want to count it, the Lord was
with us all of the time," Paine said.

Lee, 64, still remembers the horror when the fire struck and he was home
alone and unable to escape. Neighbor Sidney Griffith, a distant cousin to Lee,
dashed into the house and rescued him. Chris, 54, was at work at the Fairfield
Branch of High Point Bank.

The Griffiths found new hope when volunteers joined the project started by
Chris's coworkers.

Paine said volunteers started working to "put the house back in better shape
that it was before the fire."

Everything but the foundation, framing, sub-flooring and roofing structure
had to be torn down. Even the shingles were removed and replaced by siding.

The project also included employees from High Point Bank, Habitat for
Humanity workers and engineer David White, who figured out how to put the new
materials in place after the cleanup was done. A youth group from First
Christian Church in Clemmons also helped with the cleanup, Gloria Odom said.

Individuals and companies donated materials and furniture.

The fire was started by from ashes dumped in the backyard by a nurse
attending Lee, while Chris was at work, she said. The ashes, removed from a
woodstove , ignited leaves , spreading to a nearby shed, attached to a garage.
All burned to the ground, and the fire spread to the house.

"It was just an accident," Chris said.

"We didn't have money for insurance because I had to use what money we had to
get Lee's wheelchair fixed," Chris said. That working chair helped get Lee out
of the house, she added.

The family car, in which Lee was taken to Duke Medical Center in Durham for
treatments, had broken down a few months before fire. "It cost a lot to get the
car fixed," she said.

The house was valued at $149,000, she said. The little house, sitting on two
acres in a quiet neighborhood, had been the Griffiths' home for 22 years.

Lee has had a series of medical misfortunes for the past 18 years. "He has to
sleep sitting up in the chair; he can't lie down in a bed," said his wife.

Lee had a massive heart attack 18 years ago, followed by "seven or eight
heart attacks," Chris said. In 1999, he was hit with a brain aneurism and was
operated on in Chicago. Last year — months before the fire — Lee had open-heart
surgery at Duke Medical Center.

A smiling Lee said he is grateful for all of the medical help he has
received, and for all who helped rebuild his house. He would like to have had a
hammer in hand so he could help the builders. He misses his old job as a
building contractor, he said.

While the project isn't as glamorous as the TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition," Chris said she wouldn't trade what has been done for a new TV home.
"We've made so many new friends, and found out how much people really care," she
said.

Contact Bob Burchette at bburchette@triad.rr.com