Community caring revealed amidst darkness

'Not even someone related,' Stanley Police Chief Weiland said of someone who had reportedly started a Go Fund Me page to alleviate fire hardship. “Just someone who…thought it was the right thing to do,” he said. As of Monday night details were still pending, though readers would do well to keep an eye on the Stanley Facebook page. Meanwhile for Ruby Ann Birt, whose home burned down at 206 East Second Avenue, the communtiy response has meant a lot.

“I’ve never seen a community move so fast,” she said of the outpouring of support since she and grandson Connor lost their home Saturday night to fire, still of undetermined origin. Thankfully when the fire broke out, Ruby Ann or her grandson weren’t at home or in danger.

“I went to Action City with my grandson and two other 12-year-olds,” she said, saying that she received a call around 8 p.m. after having been gone for about one-and-a-half hours. Neighbors had seen the smoke, and reported it. By the time Ruby Ann returned home, the Stanley Fire Department along with Boyd, Thorp, and assistance from Owen were on the scene, battling the blaze. “I’ve never been around a fire, much less my own,” Ruby Ann said, adding that she wanted to thank the fire chief, police, and school along with customers for their support. In addition to the home on Second Avenue, Ruby Ann has a store downtown, and is wellknown in the area. The Saturday night fire melted shut the doors on a camper that she and Connor were going to take to see relatives this spring in Georgia, while the home according to Fire Chief Korey Hagenson, is considered a total loss. Making the firefight harder was the extreme cold Saturday, in teh double digits below zero.

“That’s why I called Thorp and Boyd,” Hagenson said of backup in case things started to freeze. In addition, Hagenson said that Owen provided a ‘Rehab Trailer’ Saturday night, meaning a heated and enclosed car hauling trailer used to keep the firefighters warm, as frostbite is a danger in the extreme cold. Hagenson was extremely greatful to a host of helpers, including the Boyd, Thorp, and Owen Fire Departments, alongwith Kelly’s Bar and Grill and the City Public Works department, along with Kwik Trip. All contributed to bring the fire under control on Second Avenue, which Hagenson said was accomplished by 11 or 12 o’clock, with several more hours being taken to ensure that all the hotspots were out, and things mopped up.

Outside of Saturday’s fire, the The Stanley Fire Department had just recently assisted Boyd at a trailer house fire in the far southeast corner of Edson, on County H. That fire according to Boyd-Edson-Delmar Fire Chief Ron Patten was determined to be woodstove related, a danger in the extreme cold as heating units are being used to the maximum Patten said. Returning to the Second Avenue fire, Ruby Ann and her grandson were put up in temporary housing through the Red Cross and had basic necessities, though as to the future, “I haven’t a clue,” she said after the week’s hotel stay the two are currently on. As long as the community comes together, an answer should

photo.

Taking place Saturday evening, a house fire at 206 East Second Avenue shows the effects of cold weather with daylight, as icicles clung to the burnt walls and roof. Stanley Police Department