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November 14, 2003
Family picks up the pieces after mysterious fireDEPUTY FIRE MARSHAL ATTRIBUTES CAUSE OF DEVASTATING BLAZE TO RARE LIGHT REFRACTION
By DOUG McMURDO
Distracted from her television viewing, the mother of two walked up the stairs, opened the door to accommodate the dog, and walked right into a nightmare. "The back right-hand corner of the hallway was engulfed in flames," she recounted Wednesday afternoon, one month to the day since a bizarre sequence of events converged to destroy the dream house she and longtime companion Bill Kerr purchased over five years ago. State Deputy Fire Marshal Tony Capucci won't swear to it, but he believes light refracting through a window and then through heavy glass coffee mugs sitting on the sill caused the fire. "Light will pass through regular glass, hit a clear, crystal glass and refract to a pinpoint," he explained Thursday morning. "It becomes a magnifying glass. Remember when you were a kid and you'd play with the magnifying glass?" Capucci said there was no issue with power, and no other source of ignition was present. The sunroom did retain heat, he added, and the south-facing windows turned the room into an oven. Oct. 12 was a typical Sunday for the family. "We went to the Chinese Wok for dinner," recounted Cline. "We came home and Bill took a nap. I watched TV and so did my sons. "It was a few minutes after 8 o'clock when I heard a weird scratching sound. I thought it was the dog ... but the sound I was hearing was windows breaking." Cline woke up Kerr, who was in a room near the fire, made certain he was up and alert to the danger, and then ordered her sons, 12-year-old Ethan and Eli, 10, to bring the dog and a bird to the car. Eli was instructed to stay in the car. Cline ordered Ethan to call the fire department and then ran to the rear of the home to grab a hose. "I couldn't stay close enough to put water on the fire; it was too hot," she said. "When I realized I couldn't stop it I made sure everyone gathered at the front of the house so I would know we were all OK." The fire department arrived and Kerr and Cline said firefighters "fought valiantly" to save the structure, but a lack of water and proper apparatus conspired to thwart the effort. "They ran out of water two or three times," Kerr said. When the incident was reported last month, Chief Lewis said drivers of tenders had to travel to Our Bar at Bell Vista Avenue and Stephanie Street to refill. To compound the problem, the tanks at commercial sites are normally gravity fed and slow to fill. The couple also believes the fire-rescue service needs a ladder truck. "It's too late for our home," said Kerr during an initial discussion last week, "but this town has more than a few buildings that are a lot bigger than our home was, and the only way you'll save them is if you can get above them." Kerr was a firefighter in California for 14 years, and said he knows what can happen when the right apparatus isn't available. The home is a structure built to look like a big, red barn, said Kerr. Nearly 5,000-square-feet with two bedrooms, three baths, and a six-car garage, but the real attraction for the couple was the upstairs, an area they converted into a virtual state of the art sound studio. Bill lost eight guitars, including the first one he ever bought in 1967. "Bill lost everything," Cline said. Peter, Paul and Mary chord books from the 1960s, two karaoke machines and more than 200 discs that go with them, an electronic keyboard, a drum set, and numerous tambourines and harmonicas were consumed by the blaze. "We could record an eight-member band," Cline reflected. "We spent three years putting it together ... music was Bill's passion." Ethan and Eli's baby books were destroyed, though Cline did manage to salvage many of the photographs. "I have the photo Ethan's supposed to take when he leaves home, but he (won't be) stable enough yet so Mom gets to keep it," Cline joked about one saved souvenir. Family members who arrived just before the first fire engine was on scene - and before the blaze threatened to consume the rest of the home - retrieved other favorite belongings. It was the staples of the home that went missing, the things we take for granted, the couple explained, that has taken a toll. "We took our first hot showers three weeks after it happened," Kerr said. "We had to borrow a can opener from a neighbor," Cline added. "We don't know where anything is. It's a real helpless feeling not knowing where the can opener is." The family has also had to deal with the absence of creature comforts. "Breaking in new shoes is normally a joy," Cline said, "but not when all of your shoes are new. My feet ache when I get done with a shift and I can't come home and put on a pair of comfortable, shoes." The insurance company offered to place the family into a rental home, but Kerr and Cline decided to stay on the property. These days they live in a 320-square-feet travel-trailer hooked up to temporary power. It's a far cry from the roominess they had grown accustomed to over the years. But neither Kerr nor Cline appears to be the type of people who believe the glass is half empty. The entire family, in fact, seems incredibly resilient and accepting to the hand it has been dealt. They've even turned the tragedy into a lesson for the boys. "Our kids need to know you clean up your own mess," explained Cline. "We even made a deal with the boys that we'd pay them $5 an hour to help with the (demolition). "This is our house," she said, "And we're staying here." And the couple has learned a lesson or two they want to pass on to other homeowners in Pahrump, especially those who have built their own dream house. The home was underinsured, so there is no way Kerr and Cline could afford to rebuild the structure, at least as it stood before the fire. Still, the couple voice compassion for victims of such events that are without insurance. It is estimated roughly 40 percent of homes in Pahrump are not insured for fire, according to statistics compiled by the fire-rescue service. "Underinsured or not, I thank God we had what we did," said Cline. As for the lack of available water with which to fight the blaze, the couple is equally accountable. "We knew the situation in Pahrump before we moved here," Cline said. "We didn't walk in blind, we knew there wasn't going to be hydrants. "We're amazed they (firefighters) saved as much as they did." If he had a chance to start over again, Kerr said he would install a water tank on his property capable of holding at least 4,000 gallons. "If it's your dream house you need to know how much water it's worth," Cline said. One more thing: The family does not want anyone to establish a bank account for donations, something that often happens in Pahrump when a neighbor experiences hardship. "We're fine," Kerr said. "We all have a week's worth of clothes. We have what we need. "There's many people in this valley who are more needy than we are, we'd like for people to help them." They also want people to review their insurance policies to make sure they are adequately covered. |
