FEBRUARY 28, 2015
MANSFIELD, OHIO
Firefighters are working to determine the cause of a fire
that destroyed a house on Mansfield's south side late Thursday night.
No one was inside the house and no one was injured from the
fire, which started at 1240 Canteberry Lane, inside Royal Oak Estates in the
southeast side of the city.
Both the cause and origin of the fire remain undetermined.
Mansfield Assistant Fire Chief Jim Bishop said firefighters
received a call around 11 p.m. of a structure fire. Firefighters arrived and found flames coming
from the roof of the residence.
"We weren't sure if there was anybody inside, so we did
an aggressive interior search," Bishop said. "We determined the house
was empty and we confirmed it with a neighbor who said (the residents) travel a
lot."
A Mansfield fireman salts the driveway leading up to 1240
Canteberry Lane to deter any ice forming while other firemen battle flames late
Thursday night. (Photo: Lisa Bernheim/News Journal)
Bishop said 16 firefighters first entered the residence to
fight the fire; they later left the house and controlled the fire from outside.
Bishop noted the house had been renovated recently, though
it is uncertain whether those renovations contributed to the fire.
According to scanner traffic during the fire, a neighbor was
able to reach the residents by phone and determined they were not inside.
//-------------------------------------------------------------------//
Sifting through the blackened rubble of what used to be
their home, Pamela Stafford's face brightened as color emerged from the ashes.
In her husband Bryon's hands was the vibrant, delicately
hand-stitched quilt his grandmother made before he was even born. It had been
passed through the family as a treasured heirloom.
Bryon said he found the quilt still hanging on the quilt
rack, unscathed beneath a vest he had tossed aside and a throw blanket with the
picture of an angel weaved into it.
"It survived its second fire," he announced.
The Staffords' 1240 Canteberry Lane home was destroyed in a
fire around 11 p.m. Thursday night. Flames were already showing through the
roof of the home when firefighters arrived. What the flames didn't consume,
water destroyed.
By Friday morning, little remained.
But "little" is more than nothing.
Disregarding the state of their TVs, furniture or
knickknacks, the Staffords only had eyes for their most beloved keepsakes:
photos — whether partially burned or not, Bryon's grandmother's quilt, Pam's
mother's purple-and-white quilt, and a Bible that belonged to Pam's father, the
Rev. Hertis H. Stone.
"Stuff can always be replaced, but it's those
sentimental things that mean the most," Pam said.
A few photos and personal belongings were among the remains
of Pam and Bryon Stafford’s home Friday afternoon. The house caught fire late Thursday
night. (Photo: Lisa Bernheim/News Journal)
The items were especially precious because they were all
that remained after another fire ravaged their Butler home in 1998.
To make money and stay together, the couple teamed up to
drive semi-trailers cross-country. They were on the road when a neighbor gave
them the devastating news.
"We stayed out for six months one time to get the down
payment for this," Bryon said, motioning to the structure that had been
their home the past 10 years.
Mansfield Fire Investigator Harlan Barrick said the flames
seem to have started in or around a furnace in the attic. The furnace was new, and had been installed
roughly a month prior. Numerous
contractors had been working in the home, Barrick said.
The quilt his grandmother made before Bryon Stafford was
born is one of the belongings untouched by flames when the house caught fire
late Thursday night. (Photo: Lisa Bernheim/News Journal)
The Staffords' insurance company will be taking over the
fire investigation to determine precise cause and fault. Until then, Pam said,
the company and their children are ensuring they're taken care of.
"I always say I will never let anyone take my
smile," Pam said. "Even as I talk to you now, I have to smile."
Source: mansfieldnewsjournal.com
