Carroll County Family Loses Home and Business in Christmas-Time Fire

CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — What began as a brief family outing to see Christmas lights ended in devastation for a Carroll County family after a fire destroyed their home Friday night.

Stephanie Skrzypek said she and her family were away from their house on Paynes Lake Road for about half an hour when they received the call that their home was on fire. By the time they arrived, the structure was fully engulfed.

The home, which Skrzypek and her husband, Thomas, designed and built two years ago on five acres in Carroll County, was their dream house. Firefighters with Carroll County Fire Rescue responded to the scene, and during the operation were alerted that two family dogs were still inside the burning home.

According to Skrzypek, firefighters entered the house, located the dogs, and carried them outside. The animals were unconscious but were revived at the scene and are expected to recover.

Investigators have not yet determined an official cause of the fire. Skrzypek said she was told one possible cause under consideration is a lithium battery that may have exploded near one side of the home.

In addition to the house, the fire also destroyed Skrzypek’s home-based bakery business, Sweet Tooth Creations by Stephanie, which she had operated for a decade and was known for custom cakes and baked goods.

Despite the loss, the Skrzypeks say they are focused on moving forward and plan to rebuild. They say they are grateful that no one in their family was injured.

A fundraising campaign has been launched on GoFundMe to assist the family as they recover. As of this weekend, the campaign had raised more than $14,000.