By: Anaya Miller
Tragedy struck Hamilton County on Jan. 28 when the family home of a Southern Adventist University student caught fire. The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department fought the flames until the next morning, when daylight revealed that the Williams-Marlow family’s house in Apison had been reduced to a few partial walls and piles of charred debris. According to Fire Marshal Matt Mundall, the cause of the incident is still under investigation.
Lizette Williams-Marlow shared in a Facebook post that she, her husband, Dwayne, and their children Zane, Sophia and Isabella escaped the fire with little more than the clothes they were wearing. After the event, representatives from Southern and friends of the Williams-Marlow family stepped up to help in multiple ways. According to Lizette, School of Religion professor Michael Hasel, a close friend of the family, was among the first to reach out. He shared the news that Southern rented an Airbnb for the family to stay in for a couple of weeks.
In addition, various students, faculty and staff from Southern’s Office of Ministry and Missions (OMM), the School of Nursing and the Student Development Office offered aid.
“The whole university, including Administration and Student Services, have all been interested to make sure that housing, some meals and some clothing, assistance, etc. have been provided,” stated OMM Student Missions Director Byard Parks in an email to the Accent. “School textbooks burned up, and the school has worked to replace those. It was a totally devastating situation, and the university has done what it could to show we care.”
Sophia, a senior nursing major, was a student missionary in Bolivia during the 2024-2025 academic year. To uplift Sophia during the difficult time, the other student missionaries who served with her put together a basket of gifts to replace some of the things they knew she loved most and lost in the fire.
Julie Devlin, vision trips coordinator of the OMM, expressed her concern for Sophia and the situation she and her family are in.
“We care deeply for Sophia,” she stated. “[We’re] thankful for all the support and care and resources provided for Sophia and her family during this very tragic loss.”
According to Sophia’s parents, the School of Nursing paid for her new textbooks. Holly Gadd, dean of the School of Nursing, didn’t feel that it was important to dwell on the specifics of how each department helped the family.
“When you lose everything, you need everything,” she stated. “The community has come together to help with food, clothing, money, prayers, etc. We [the School of Nursing] are just part of that group. There will be many more needs in the coming weeks and months. Hopefully, the family will not be forgotten, and we will all be there for them over the long haul.”
The fire is just one of many losses the family has suffered. Lizette’s first husband, John Williams, was the dean of the School of Visual Art and Design until he passed away in 2009 from liver cancer. The John C. Williams Gallery of Art is named after him. Just a year and a half later, in the spring of 2011, a tornado destroyed the family’s home, sparing their lives and pets but leaving very few personal items undamaged. After Lizette married Dwayne, they bought a different property and built a new house for their family—the home that just burned down.
“When my late husband passed away, when he was still able to speak, he said [that his illness] couldn’t have happened in a better place,” Lizette said. “Even though it was a bad thing, he knew he was dying, he saw so many people helping and so many people being there for me and the kids. And here we go again, you know? So many people helped, so many people helped.”
Dwayne spoke about how comforting it was to see God’s goodness in the world despite all the bad.
“It’s good to know that God’s people are real,” he said. “There’s so much evil in the world, and the news and media are always focused on the bad stuff; but you know what? There are good people, too. God’s people are still here, and they’re reaching out and helping and doing what they can and spreading the gospel, and that’s wonderful. They’re being the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Both of Sophia’s parents are small business owners: Lizette runs Lizette’s Floral Studio on Lee Highway, and Dwayne heads Quality Installers, an installation company. They admitted that their current situation has made it difficult to focus on their respective work. Lizette emphasized the work her employees have been doing in helping her keep the studio going.
The family also expressed gratitude to Collegedale Academy, where many of the students participated in a “dress-down day” and intentionally incurred fines for not wearing their uniforms to school. According to Dwayne and Lizette, everyone paid the fines, and some paid even more. A donor then matched what the school collected in fines and gifted the money to the Williams-Marlow family. The students also gave them new Bibles and bought clothes and containers full of things they may need.
A Southern student and his brother who rent an apartment from the Williams-Marlows brought warm clothes over on the night of the fire. Another neighbor started a GoFundMe site.
“Generosity is pretty amazing,” Lizette said. “Nothing can really replace things, but seeing that people are praying for us and lifting us up in prayer is very encouraging. It gives us strength to keep going.”
“We’d just like to say ‘Thank you’ to our community,” Dwayne added. “Southern for their generosity, and CA, and her [Lizette’s] shop at Oakies Plaza.”
The surrounding small businesses in the plaza, as well as a local pharmacy, also pulled together to gift the family socks, suitcases and over-the-counter medicines. According to Lizzette, the amount of support that flooded in was overwhelming.
“I had, like, 200 messages that day [of the fire],” Lizette said. “We had to say to stop bringing clothes, because we were becoming the next Samaritan Center.”
The Williams-Marlows plan to rebuild their house. Until then, they are waiting for their insurance to find a house for them to rent.
