Hundreds of residents and business owners got to see their properties for the first time Friday since a blaze swept through Gatlinburg Monday night.
For some that process was tough, but allowed them to come together with coworkers who through this tragedy have become family.
To hear it from the staff at the Castle – an iconic home that overlooked Gatlinburg - one phone call and quick actions saved several lives.
“You’ve got to leave now – don’t worry about the valuables, save your lives and get out of the Castle," one staff member remembered saying.
The handful of staff at the Castle in Gatlinburg took that advice – piling into their cars in a race to get away from the growing wildfire.
One staff member went back inside for his wife and dogs on the property, narrowly escaping before the flames destroyed the property.
“We got out of the bottom drive way and going down the road everything was on fire – the hill was on fire the trees were on fire. You could feel the heat driving through it," he said.
Owner Kent Emmonds got to see the property for the first time Friday. The property is destroyed – a loss that hurts his employees because they called the building a second home.
“It made me so sad, because the Castle is the happiest home I’ve ever had," a staff member said Friday.
Emmonds wants to keep his staff working here in Tennessee or at other properties he owns. He hopes his insurance company gives him the OK to rebuild.
“We’re going to hopefully get an adjuster up there next week and see, but to us that’s a special place in our heart, so we’d like to," he said.
Emmonds believes that quick action truly was the difference between life and death – several homes around the Castle are a total loss.