For Jennifer and Jeremy Lustman, Christmas wasn't the sort of holiday they'd expected.
On Monday, Dec. 25, at 12:40 a.m., the smoke alarms in their two-story home on Dell Avenue alerted them to a fire in the first floor. According to Lt. Raul Castillo of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, the couple escaped their home by jumping out of their second-story bedroom window without injury.
An unattended candle is believed to be the cause of the fire, which caused an estimated $300,000 damage to the home, valued at $547,620.
Donations for the couple, who were just married last fall, have been piling up on the front porch of the Canary Cottage, owned by Lynne Garvey Wark. She said neighbors in the small town were gathered in front of the Lustmans' house while it was burning.
"The fire spread so quickly," she said. "I don't understand how the fire didn't spread to the houses on either side, they're all so close there."
Wark said the couple is looking to rent an apartment while they begin work on rebuilding their home.
"They're lucky, their insurance will replace everything," Wark said.
Residents of Clifton have been leaving donations of clothing and personal items with Wark, who has turned them over to the Lustmans. By the end of Christmas Day, she said, there were eight bags full of clothing, toiletries and gifts.
"Their day began horribly but ended with a tremendous outpouring of Christian love and care, and for that I'm really damn proud of this town," Wark said.
Clifton Mayor Tom Peterson said he and his wife went down to the house at 8 a.m. on Christmas morning and found a young woman there, looking at the house.
"This girl, who was a newlywed herself, said she had seen the fire on the morning news and wanted to do something to help," Peterson said. "She had brought a trunk full of wedding gifts and Christmas presents. We asked her if we could tell Jennifer and Jeremy who she was, but said only wanted to be called Mrs. Claus."
Within the next few months, the Clifton Men's group will sponsor a benefit for Jeremy Lustman, to replace some of the tools he lost in the fire, Peterson said.
The fire was brought under control within 30 minutes after a tanker truck from the Clifton Fire and Rescue station arrived. A second tanker truck from Prince William County was also called for assistance, Castillo said.
"Ninety percent of homes in Clifton do not have hydrants," Castillo said.
Peterson said he expects the fire to stir converstations about fire safety and the threats faced by old, historic homes.
"The fire department was fantastic, but we want to make sure this doesn't happen again," he said.