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Woman survives second home fire in her lifetime
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Published: November 6, 2009
Evelyn Smith is rightfully terrified of fire.
A fire destroyed her home when she was a teenager and, a few years later, she and her children survived a fiery car crash.
Now, for the third time in her life, she finds herself dealing with the aftermath of a fire.
Last week, her 20-year-old mobile home was damaged by fire, leaving her and her 22-year-old son, T.J. Smith, to pick up the pieces.
The mobile home, valued at $4,600, sits on a piece of land on East Lackey Farm Road near the Iredell-Alexander county line.
The home is still intact, and most of the fire and smoke was contained to one bedroom, said Iredell County Deputy Fire Marshal Garland Cloer.
Smith said she and T.J. are alternating between living with her boyfriend of 17 years, her daughter, who lives next door to her home on East Lackey Farm Road, and her mother in Stony Point.
Not only are Smith and her son dealing with the aftermath of the fire, they have health problems to contend with as well.
T.J. is mentally handicapped, and Smith herself is on oxygen full time. Both depend on Social Security disability for income.
Smith said they left the home the night of Oct. 28, spending Wednesday night at her boyfriend's — a weekly tradition.
Before leaving, she called EnergyUnited to report power problems in the house.
A few hours later, the Energy United repairman arrived, and spotted flames in the back of the trailer. He called 911, Cloer said.
Firefighters from Stony Point, Monticello and West Iredell fire departments were able to contain the fire and smoke to a rear bedroom, limiting the damage, Cloer said.
Smith said the back bedroom is used to store items, especially things T.J. may use to harm himself, such as medications and aerosol cans. For that reason, she said, she kept the door padlocked.
Cloer said firefighters did have to force entry into the home and into the back bedroom.
He said it's obvious the fire started in the that bedroom, but no firm cause has been determined.
The fire damage was minimal, he said. "It melted one side of a tote (storage container)," Cloer said.
Smith and T.J. returned to the home after getting a call from her daughter that Wednesday night.
T.J., she said, became uncontrollable when he saw the family's large bird cage outside. Their cockatiel normally is housed in that cage.
However, Smith said, she cleaned the large cage that day and transferred the bird to a smaller cage so they could take it along to her boyfriend's house.
"All he could say was 'My bird, my bird,' " she said.
Explaining to her son that the bird was OK took some time.
Their pit bull was tied out back and was not inside the house.
Smith said she was upset to see her home damaged by fire, but was grateful that she and T.J. weren't at home.
"Material things can be replaced," she said.
Smith said much of their belongings are covered with the smell of smoke, and she's not sure what can be saved.
She said she believes the seats on T.J.'s motorized wheelchair can be cleaned and the chair itself is still in working condition.
Smith said she's hoping one thing that survived the house fire she went through as a teenager will be salvageable this time.
"The only thing we were able to salvage from the Ingram Road fire was the family Bible," she said. They found it laying outside under an oak tree.
Her sister took the Bible and kept it in the mobile home that Smith now calls home. Smith moved into the home a few years ago after her sister died.
That Bible, she said, contains a few family pictures and was in the room where the fire started.
Because of health concerns, Smith has not been able to get inside the house to assess the damage personally.
Smith and her son were each left with the clothes they were wearing and the change of clothes they took.
She said the American Red Cross helped out with a voucher for $75 for food and $260 for clothing.
Smith said rebuilding the life she and T.J. shared will take time, but she's moving ahead.
She said she's not looking for a handout, but if anyone wants to help, she'd welcome the assistance.
"I won't turn anything down right now. I'm not hard to please," she said.
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