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A local elementary school is rallying to help a paraprofessional and her husband after they lost their home in an early-morning fire.

Sixes Elementary School students, faculty, staff and parents are in the beginning stages of collecting money and other necessities to help Ken and Jane Tenedini of Sixes get back on their feet.

The Tenedinis are in need of toiletries, blankets, pillows, food and some clothing.

The couple jumped from their roof in the wee hours of Sept. 17 to escape their burning home at 521 Sackman Falls Court in the Falls of Cherokee subdivision.

Mrs. Tenedini escaped with two shattered heels, burns on her upper left arm and left knee, fractured ribs and a fractured lumbar, while her husband suffered three fractures on his spine and burns on his arms and legs.

The couple is hospitalized at Grady Memorial Hospital in downtown Atlanta.

The Tenedini home was destroyed in the fire, their oldest daughter, Kelly Tenedini said.

Tim Cavender, public information officer with Cherokee Fire and Emergency Services, said the cause of the fire has not been determined.

To help the family, Sixes PTA members have created The Sixes Elementary PTA Fund for Jane and Ken Tenedini at Wachovia, said PTA Treasurer Kelly Poole.

The school also is conducting a Ten for Tenedini day on Oct. 10. Students will be allowed to wear pajamas if they bring a donation to give to the family.

Mrs. Poole said the Sixes community's support of the Tenedinis occurred naturally.

"At school, our PTA is so involved and happy to help in any way we can," she said.

Mrs. Tenedini, who has worked as a paraprofessional at Sixes for three years, is beloved and looked up to by students, teachers and fellow paraprofessionals, said kindergarten teacher Venetia Burgess.

"She's a gift," she said. "She has a very special way with children."

On the morning of the fire, Mrs. Tenedini said she and her husband were awaken by a loud blast. The couple tried to escape from their bedroom door but were overcome with smoke.

They climbed out the window onto their roof and screamed for help.

Neighbors came with ladders to help the couple climb down, but the flames began to engulf the roof.

After part of the roof began to collapse, the Tenedinis made the quick decision to jump.

After jumping, Mrs. Tenedini said she blacked out, but remembers being moved away from her home by neighbors.

"All I could see without moving my head was flames taking over the house," she said.

Heather Craighead, one of the neighbors who rushed to help the Tenedinis, said numerous neighbors came to aid the family.

"There were a lot of good neighbors out there doing their part to help them," she said. "I'm proud of my neighbors."

While the couple made it out of the fire, their 15-month-old West Highland white terrier Bailey was "lost."

The Tenedinis are on a path of recovery. Tenedini had surgery on Tuesday to repair damage to his back and has been in an induced coma for over a week.

Mrs. Tenedini has been in to see him but has not spoken to him since the fire.

"It's very sad," she said. I miss him terribly."

Mrs. Tenedini is in a step-down unit at Grady and is in talks with her doctors about moving to a rehabilitation facility to help her regain her ability to walk.

The Tenedinis moved from upstate New York in July 2004 to the Sixes community.

Mrs. Tenedini, 57, originally retired from teaching in 2004 after 25 years. After moving to Georgia, she decided to earn her teaching license to become a substitute teacher.

"I missed being in the classroom," she said. "I love teaching."

In 2005, she began her first year as a paraprofessional at Sixes.

Tenedini, 60, is self-employed as a pharmaceutical equipment salesman, Ms. Tenedini said.

"They are very active people," she said of her parents. "They love to go to yard sales together."

Once they are released from the hospital, Mrs. Tenedini said she and her husband will try to find a one-story home that's wheelchair- accessible in their neighborhood.

Mrs. Tenedini also said she's looking at magazines with housing plans in order to possibly rebuild her home.

Mrs. Tenedini said she has become attached to the community and the neighbors that have welcomed her and her husband with open arms and who helped save their lives.

"They are part of my life now," she said. "They are my family."

Mrs. Tenedini said she's been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the Sixes community.

Once she gets out of the hospital, Mrs. Tenedini said she will "come out and help them in any way she can" when she's feeling strong.

Ms. Tenedini said she believes her parents will make a full physical recovery and will eventually move on with their lives.

"They are strong, resilient people," she said. "They will get through this, but it'll take time."

kdixon@cherokeetribune.com

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