City blaze leaves family homeless
|
|
Fire and smoke pour from a Water Street residence in Rutland Thursday morning. Albert J. Marro / Rutland Herald |
Toolbox
By Cristina Kumka Herald Staff - Published: November 7, 2008
Neighbors stared in amazement Thursday morning as flames billowed out of Steve Cushman's three-bedroom mobile home at 66 Water St.
Moments earlier, his wife, Lori Vincent, and daughter, Jessica Vincent, gathered their three dogs and three cats and ran from the home after seeing smoke coming from an electrical box and hearing the repetitive beeps of the smoke detectors, family members said.
The Vincents and nearly all their pets escaped unharmed. The only family member unaccounted for was one of the family's cats, Nahla.
The fire was caused by an electrical accident, ignited in the main master bedroom panel, said Rutland Fire Chief Robert Schlachter.
Seven Rutland police officers and about seven firefighters were initially called to the scene of the fire at 9:15 a.m., according to Officer Kevin Blongy.
"The north end was fully engulfed" when the first responders arrived, he said. "It was wide open with flames."
After more than an hour and a half of firefighters extinguishing the fire, the five-member Cushman/Vincent family had nothing left.
Bulldozers demolished the home as firefighters searched for the last hot spots.
"I have clothes from Ryan's, my boyfriend, but nothing else," said daughter Brandi Cushman, who lived in a bedroom in the middle of the double-wide.
The fire was the third blaze on Water Street in three years, an incidence some neighbors called an "omen."
The second floor of 62 Water St. caught fire a little more than a year ago and before that, a neighboring mobile home directly behind Cushman's caught fire, according to neighbor and family friend, Crystal Gillespie.
"It's too close together," Gillespie said. "Thank God everyone made it out OK."
Standing nearby, Brandi Cushman's eyes filled with tears as she stared at her home being demolished.
She had received a text message that read: "Our house is gone."
Cushman said she and four other family members lived in the home, a three-bedroom, one-bath built in 1971 and valued at $70,600.
Her dad, Steve, bought the home in April 2007 for $77,500, according to the city tax assessor's office.
"It sucks," she said. "Hopefully, our insurance will cover it."
As Cushman spoke, her mother and sister, who were the only family members home when the fire broke out, sat on nearby playground equipment in shock, crying and receiving hugs from loved ones and neighbors.
Cushman said her sister told her that the blaze started after she saw smoke, at first thinking it was her mom's cigarette, but then noticing it was coming from an electrical box in the closet of the master bedroom in the front of the home.
Shortly afterward, the fire alarms started going off, Cushman said.
"My dad was a fanatic, he didn't want it (a fire) to happen so he put two in, like, every room," she said.
According to Gillespie, Steve Cushman knew how poorly the home was constructed and was in the process of renovating it.
"He told me when he was renovating the bathroom that there were screws through wires," Gillespie recalled.
Cushman said she and her family members would probably stay with relatives while they plan what to do next.
The Red Cross arrived at the scene of the fire around noon to aid the family, according to Schlachter and a family member on the scene.
Contact Cristina Kumka at cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com.