Fire leaves family homeless

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, October 18, 2000

A mother and four children escaped injury Tuesday morning when fire erupted in their home.

Wednesday, October 18, 2000

A mother and four children escaped injury Tuesday morning when fire erupted in their home.

Email newsletter signup

The house and all its possessions were lost in the blaze, and the family is homeless.

The cause and origin of the fire is believed to be in the area of a dresser in a closet in a laundry room.

A neighbor’s home suffered paint and siding damages and cracked windows from the intense heat generated by the house fire.

Austin Fire Chief Dan Wilson was disappointed the house had no working smoke alarms and neither the family nor the home’s owner had insurance.

Austin Fire Department firefighters were called to the house at 1002 Fifth Ave. NE at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Charley Bina, a roofing contractor working on a project next door, discovered smoke and flames coming from the home and called 911.

Rhonda Kranz and four children ages 1, 4, 8 and 16 were able to make their way from the one-story home and suffered no injuries.

After a brief attempt to enter the home, firefighters were forced to give up and apply water from the outside.

No estimates of the losses were available, but Fire Chief Wilson described both the home and the family’s personal possession total losses.

The home is owned by Greg Thompson.

Kranz’s live-in boyfriend, Bruce Nelson was at work at the time of the fire.

Three other children were in school when the fire occurred.

The fire chief said early investigation indicates the fire originated from child fire play. He did not identify the individual child believed to be responsible for the fire.

Nelson and Kranz and their children are being assisted by the Mower County chapter of the American Red Cross.

The absence of working smoke alarms stunned Wilson, who said a massive program of the fire department, Red Cross chapter and others to distribute free smoke alarms and batteries had somehow missed the family.

"Smoke alarms save lives," he said. "Every home should have one and they are still available, thanks to the partnership with the Red Cross, free of charge and with lifetime batteries."

Wilson also lamented the family and homeowner did not have insurance.

Coming during October Fire Prevention Month education and awareness efforts, the Tuesday morning fire was, Wilson said, a disappointment.

"It shows we need to work closer with the State Fire Marshall on the juvenile fire-setters’ program," he said. "Also, we need more education for families on the importance of smoke alarms and the importance of other fire prevention efforts."

"Also, we need for people and homeowners to understand how important renters and home insurance are," he said.