CARNESVILLE, Ga. --
A fire destroyed the Refuge Baptist Camp in Carnesville, Ga Saturday, but firefighters didn’t let the blaze ruin the bride’s day.
Hours before the ceremony was supposed to start, the sanctuary and reception hall went up in flames. The owner believes a faulty furnace started the blaze.
Joni Martin kept her wedding dress in the building, so it could be steamed the morning of her big day. The dress was supposed to be in room number one, which was destroyed in the fire. When that door wouldn’t open, the white and crimson-colored dress was put in the next room. Firefighters were able to save the dress and put it in a body bag to protect it from the smoke.
"You can imagine a big husky fireman and EMTs coming out with the wedding dress for a girl. They didn't have anywhere to put the dress, so they laid it out on the bed and they said it’s going to get smoke damage in here and they thought about it and said we can put it in a body bag and seal it up," said Oliver Martin, father of the bride.
Martin held back tears as he told the story of the dress being brought to his daughter.
"To think that we have a Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that thinks enough of a little girl to save a dress, a wedding dress, that's awesome," said Martin.
The couple ended up getting married Dec. 19th at a nearby church which opened its doors to them.
Dillard Hudgins, who’s owns the camp, says his bible was also saved in the fire. Hudgins plans to rebuild.
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