NEWS ABOUT SAN JUAN COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT NO. 3
Related stories
List of stories about Fire District No. 3
Blaze guts Pear Point home on San Juan Island (more about this fire
San Juan Island residents’ generosity overwhelms
fire victim
posted 05-00
Ben White lost his home and possessions to a fire April 29 but not his appreciation of San Juan Islanders. "It really let’s me know why I live here. The outpouring of goodwill has been overwhelming and embarrassing," he says.
"Something like this really makes you count your blessings," White adds. "You never know how many friends you have…. I’m so grateful."
Even as the home was still burning, islanders were asking how they could help White, his son Benny and daughter Julia. Bryn and Rebecca Barnard opened their home to the Whites, but the family will probably need interim housing until, when or if they can rebuild. The Red Cross also is helping the Whites by providing them with clothing and food vouchers.
Spring Street School is coordinating assistance. "Ways you can help include dinners for six, any offers of a free place they can stay until they find a home, clothing, money donations and any other help you may think they could use," according to a note sent home May 1 with Spring Street School students. To donate or for more information, call Spring Street School at 360.378.6393.
While White is reluctant to have a fund established for his family, 10-year-old Benny wouldn’t mind donations to help replace his Magic and Pokemon cards. White misses sentimental belongings, including an orchid, a rocking chair that belonged to his grandfather and his collection of first-edition John Steinbeck novels.
"Ten times a day you forget you don’t have a house. It’s gone," White says.
However, his family is coping with the loss. "The kids are fine and all the critters are fine," White adds.
White plans to build a traditional timber frame home. "I’d like to do a good, old-fashioned barn raising. We’d have fun, with a feast and party afterward," he says.
more photos...
Candle started home fire
A candle was cause of a fire that destroyed a San Juan Island home the evening of April 29.
Ben White said his daughter Julia went outside the Pear Point home, heard a pop, looked back and saw smoke. Upon entering the house, she found her room, where a candle had been burning, in flames.
"We believe it was probably the candle in the girl’s room," said Bill McLaughlin, San Juan Fire District No. 3 chief. "Given the fact that it was an unattended room and there was flammable material near where the fire started, it’s not likely it was anything else."
Julia saved four ducklings and three chickens before calling 911. Two pygmy goats were also rescued. Two chameleons died in the fire, which quickly spread in the wooden structure.
Twenty-six firefighters responded with four engines, a tanker and a rescue rig. The San Juan Island District No. 3 and Town of Friday Harbor crews battled flames for more than two hours. Emergency aid workers and the Red Cross provided first aid and food and beverages to the firefighters.
McLaughlin said the loss of the house and its contents is estimated at $220,000. White said he paid his insurance two days before the blaze.
