Family of musicians saves instruments in Cascade fire

The Cascade family who lost their home in a fire early Tuesday morning is staying with relatives and getting help from the American Red Cross.

At least one of the Lillards, a family of bluegrass musicians, remains upbeat.

“I’m going to try to turn this negative into a positive,” said Julian Lillard.

They were able to save their most prized possessions: their musical instruments, said Lillard, owner of the home at 1237 Cascade Road. The valuable items included banjos, guitars, mandolins, fiddles and a standup bass — the lone piece of melody-making equipment that sustained mild damage.

Lillard’s grandson, Clay Lillard — a banjo player for the James King Band — had grabbed two banjos and Julian’s main guitar before firefighters rescued the rest. The three instruments were kept in an easily accessible spot in case of a disaster, Julian said.

Clay’s girlfriend, Melody Dalton, and Julian’s wife, Mo, were also in the house when the fire happened.

Julian asked firefighting personnel to save his musical items, equipment so cherished he tried to crawl back into the house to collect more before personnel arrived. Clay dragged Julian back outside by his feet, he recalled.

“They went in and retrieved every one of my instruments,” Lillard said during an interview Friday at his business, Brosville Auto Repair.

Firefighters did an excellent job, Lillard said.

Julian was asleep the night the blaze occurred when Clay, who was staying at the home, opened the door and told him to get up because the house is on fire. Julian, armed with a fire extinguisher, tried to douse the flames covering the back of a sofa.

“The flames went down and two seconds later, the flames re-ignited,” he said. Clay’s girlfriend, Melody Dalton, called 911.

The blaze caused major damage to the Lillards’ house early Tuesday morning. The fire, reported at 3:47 a.m. was caused by discarded smoking materials.

When personnel arrived, heavy smoke came from the front of the home with flames shooting out of a rear window. Fire departments from Cascade and Brosville responded, with assistance from Tunstall Fire & Rescue.

Firefighters extinguished the fire quickly, but remained on the scene for three hours. Three engines, two tankers and an ambulance responded to the fire, along with 17 firefighters.

There were no injuries. The Lillards were outside the home when personnel arrived.

Amy Whittaker, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross’s Southwest Virginia Region, said the organization provided financial help for clothing and food. The Lillards are staying with Juilan’s mother and his daughter, Julian said.

Julian said he has shed tears of joy since the fire because of the outpouring of support and offers of help from around the country and the world.

The Lillards’ home will be rebuilt in two to six months, Julian said.