Charcoal briquettes are the cause of a fire in Villages of Urbana that destroyed four townhomes.
Four townhomes suffered major damage, and three homes were declared total losses. Several other homes suffered external damage from the intense heat.
Those impacted have a long road to recovery, but they are meeting their basic needs and making inroads toward the healing process thanks to the generous help of family, friends and neighbors.
Vicki Skahill was driving home from Nebraska with friends after participating in a roller skating competition when her brother called to tell her about the fire. Her house has now been declared a total loss and will be completely leveled. Her two Tonkinese cats perished in the fire. Two small pieces of furniture are the only items in the home that can possibly be salvaged.
Vicki was so grief-stricken after returning home that her brother convinced her to get away to the beach with friends while she sorted out her future. She will be living with her niece in Spring Ridge until she can find temporary housing.
Jennifer Hamilton-Anderson and her young children, Emma and Rhett, were settled into bed when a neighbor knocked on her door to alert her to the fire. While she and her neighbors made sure the children were safe and attempted to put out the fire, she put her beloved dog, Piper, in her kennel, so she wouldn’t get hurt or run away. They couldn’t imagine that the fire would spread so quickly or that they wouldn’t be able to save Harper, their cat, Clover, or anything else in the completely destroyed home.
Hamilton-Anderson and her children are living in temporary housing in Adamstown, possibly for a year or more, until they can return to Urbana.
Elizabeth and Brad Johnson had gotten their 10-month-old son, Everett, down for the night and were watching TV when they noticed a spark outside and saw the fire from next door. They all got out safely but lost almost everything, and they didn’t know about the welfare of their three cats until the next day. They have found temporary housing for the next year, until their house is re-built, but had to find temporary homes for the cats.
Among the very few things spared in the fire were items of great sentimental value to the Johnsons — some old family photographs and two pieces of jewelry given to Brad from his grandparents.
Michael Theisen; his partner, Tricia King; and their children, Joshua and Zachary, had out-of-town guests visiting when a guest who had been sitting on the back deck came running in to tell them of the fire. They immediately rushed outside to alert the neighbors and try to put out the fire.
King told her son to put Anderson’s dog in the kennel for protection, and she struggles mightily with her decision since the dog didn’t survive. “I feel tremendous guilt for that decision, but I was just doing what I thought was best,” she said.
Theisen and King’s home was not totally destroyed, but it suffered major smoke and water damage. They will be in temporary housing for at least three months.
King said she was “grateful for the kindness shown from so many people who realized that, even though my home wasn’t completely destroyed like the others, [our family] also suffered and is mourning a great loss.”
While the victims struggle with the aftermath of the fire, they have also seen an “incredible outpouring of love and caring,” said Skahill from friends, neighbors and many people the victims have never met who have come together to offer food, clothing, shelter and furnishings for the families. Friends collected donations of food, clothing and furnishings, and set up a Facebook page (Friends want to help Jennifer Hamilton-Anderson and Urbana Fire Victims) to collect needed items and communicate with well-wishers.
Area businesses have also stepped in to help. Fundraisers were held at Buffalo Wild Wings, Houlihans and the Ledo’s Pizza in Urbana to help victims meet the gaps between insurance coverage and their many needs. The local Gap store also donated clothing for the victims. Lisa Giuliani, a Realtor with Keller Williams, set up an account at Chevy Chase Bank’s Urbana branch to help lessen the victims’ financial burden; donations are being accepted at Chevy Chase for the month of September.
Friends and neighbors are storing the many donations of furnishings until next year, when these residents can move back into what they can finally call home.