Dateline: December 8, 2005

Fire destroys home of Clarendon family

By Roger  Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

A Clarendon family lost almost all of their possessions last Friday when a morning fire destroyed all but one bedroom of their home.

Faye Bryley said she was watching TV in her trailer house in the 200 block of W. Martindale Street when she first smelled smoke. She initially thought the smell was outside but soon discovered it coming from her daughters’ bedroom at the end of the trailer.

“It was just a small fire,” she said. “I immediately thought, ‘Fire. Water.’ But when I threw water on the flame, it got bigger and went up the curtain.”

Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department Captain Patrick Robertson said a small electric space heater was the source of the blaze, but he did not know what might have caused it to catch fire or what it might have ignited.

“Ideally if you find fire like that, you should use a dry chemical extinguisher or smother it if it’s small,” Robertson said. “A smoke detector can also help catch fires early and allow you to extinguish 95 percent of them before they do much damage.”

Bryley quickly called 911 and said the fire was already coming out of the house when she ran to her sister’s nearby home. When the fire department arrived, the blaze was already “fully involved,” Robertson said. They extinguished the fire in about 10 minutes.

“Only one bedroom with the door closed was undamaged,” Robertson said.

The Bryley family did not have insurance and are now looking for a new place to live, but they are thankful for what they do have.

“I just thank God it happened while the kids were in school and not at night,” Bryley said.

She and her husband, Kenneth, are living at her sister’s. Their daughters, 14-year-old Lumpy, 13-year-old Kia, and 9-year-old twins Glory and Lynzee, are living with Faye’s parents. Bryley works in the home health industry, and her husband works at Hedley Feedlot.

“The people of Clarendon have been real good to us. They are fantastic,” she said. “We’ve been helped by the Red Cross, friends, classmates, and the Methodist Church; and we appreciate everything so much.”

This is not the first Christmas tragedy Bryley’s family has faced. Eight years ago on Christmas Eve, she was living with her grandmother when that home was destroyed by fire. They lost everything then, too, she said.

“We hope to find another trailer house, but right now we’re just looking for a place to stay.”

According to the US Fire Administration, the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season is known for an increased number of structure fires, and “the dollar loss per fire is 34 percent greater than normal.”

In addition to encouraging the use of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, Robertson says people need to use extra caution with space heaters.

“Leave two feet of clearance in all directions around a space heater and turn it off if you leave the room,” Robertson said.