Fire destroys residence in rural Powell

Posted 2/15/18

“I come home, and the fire department is all over the place, and the house is in extreme flame, and that was it,” Goldberg said.

“It was a big shock,” he said Tuesday. “I mean, it was a terrible shock.”

No one was inside the home …

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Fire destroys residence in rural Powell

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On Monday afternoon, Dennis Goldberg went into town to buy food for his animals. He returned soon afterward to find his Lane 8 house engulfed in flames.

“I come home, and the fire department is all over the place, and the house is in extreme flame, and that was it,” Goldberg said.

“It was a big shock,” he said Tuesday. “I mean, it was a terrible shock.”

No one was inside the home when it caught on fire.

“The dog was with me, and the chickens and ducks are in another building,” Goldberg said. “We did good that way.”

Unfortunately, his home was completely destroyed.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, Fire Chief Damian Dicks said Tuesday.

“The most amazing part of it is coming home and seeing the fire department doing a heck of a good job,” Goldberg said. “And not even knowing how it happened or started or anything ...”

The Powell Volunteer Fire Department was called to the blaze at 2:45 p.m. Monday, and the house was fully engulfed when firemen arrived, Dicks said. Firefighters remained on the scene until almost 7 p.m.

Firemen were told there was ammunition in an area of the house, so they kept that in mind as they fought the flames.

“It definitely changes the way we attack the fire,” Dicks said, adding that it’s “one those tough things: We’ve got to put the fire out, but we’ve got to stay safe at the same time.”

Goldberg said he’s staying with a friend as he figures out what to do next. Nothing from the house is salvageable, he said.

“I didn’t get hurt. That’s the most important thing,” he said. “Material things are all replaceable.”

Goldberg, 80, is a retired physician.

When asked how people could help or donate items he needs, Goldberg said he appreciated the thought, but doesn’t need assistance.

“I’m OK, I’m alive and well,” Goldberg said.

“Thanks to everybody who was concerned and cared and was offering to help,” Goldberg added. “That’s what you get in a small town. There’s a whole lot of people who are right there to help you, so I’m very grateful for all of that.”

Third house fire of 2018

Monday’s house fire marked the third in the Powell area over the past six weeks.

“It seems we’ve had as many — if not more — just in this first part of the year than we typically do in an entire year,” Dicks said.

In the first fire, a mobile home in Powell was destroyed in the early morning hours of Jan. 2. Reynaldo “Rey” Adame’s dog woke him up to the fire; both were able to escape the flames and smoke.

The second house fire occurred on the night of Jan. 6 on Road 13 in rural Powell. Eddie C. Downer, 67, died in the fire.

Officials believe space heaters caused both of the early January fires.

With Monday’s fire, “we can’t say what caused this one, if it was the same as the other two or not,” Dicks said.

What the three fires do have in common is that they started in very cold weather. Temperatures dipped to 4 degrees with subzero windchill on Monday while firemen fought the Lane 8 fire.

“When it’s cold outside, you tend to utilize more power in your house, which puts a load on everything,” Dicks said.

He encouraged people to be “cautious of what you have plugged in and running right now, with it being so cold out.”

The fire chief also emphasized the importance of smoke detectors.

“We can’t stress enough to make sure you have working smoke detectors in your house,” Dicks said.

“With daylight saving time coming up next month, that’s always a good time to check the batteries and check the detector,” Dicks added.

Over time, smoke detectors collect dust and dirt, making them less effective, he said.

“Any detector that’s over 10 years old, we highly recommend you replace it,” Dicks said.

A newer smoke detector from the past decade will have a service date printed on the device.

“If you look at your smoke detector and you can’t find a manufacture date anywhere on it, it needs to be replaced,” Dicks said.

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