Former Pro Bowl NFL player Randall Cobb and his family ‘lucky to be alive’ after escaping house fire

By Sam Joseph, CNN

(CNN) — Former Pro Bowl NFL wide receiver Randall Cobb and his family escaped unhurt after a blaze erupted at their home in Nashville, Tennessee.

Cobb’s wife, Aiyda, said the family was “lucky to be alive,” as she detailed what had happened on her Instagram account.

“The Tesla charger caught on fire in the garage late last night and quickly spread,” she wrote on Instagram Stories. “We got out of the house with nothing but the clothes on our back and no shoes on our feet.”

Cobb later confirmed that he, his wife and their three children were safe and thanked the firefighters that had responded to the incident.

“Thank you for all the love and positive messages,” Cobb wrote on Instagram. “First and foremost, we are all safe and healthy. We got out of the house and I was able to get back in and get our dog, Louie. We can’t thank Chief Caruthers, Captain Irvin and the Nashville Fire Department enough for their swift action.

“I can’t get the image of the brave firefighter getting into position out of my head; he didn’t even have water to shoot yet. I truly thought the cars were going to explode and that we would lose him in this tragedy. He is a true hero.

“Unfortunately we don’t know how much, if anything, will be salvageable, but this has been a reminder that nothing is more important than the health of our family,” he added.

The 33-year-old also posted images that showed the extent of the damage caused by the blaze.

The Nashville Fire Department (NFD) confirmed to CNN that a residential fire had taken place and that there was an electrical vehicle in the garage. NFD said the fire was contained to the garage itself but “heavy smoke damage” reached parts of the home.

“There were no injuries reported to civilians or personnel,” the department said. “The investigation is ongoing and some details are unavailable, as part of the investigation.”

CNN has contacted Tesla offering the company the opportunity to comment.

The automaker has previously said their cars are 10 times less likely to catch fire than gasoline-fueled cars, citing data from the National Fire Protection Association and the US Federal Highway Administration. Battery fires can be harder to put out, though, and require special treatment by firefighters.

Cobb is currently a free agent after spending last season with the New York Jets. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2011, playing eight seasons with the team and being named to the Pro Bowl in 2014.

He had subsequent stints with the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans in the 2019 and 2020 campaigns respectively before returning to the Packers for two more seasons. He followed Aaron Rodgers to New York after the quarterback was traded by Green Bay in 2023.

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