Family picks up pieces after fire

Published 9:36 am Thursday, November 11, 2010

Most people have asked themselves what items they would try to rescue in the event of a house fire. For a family from Dexter, the answer was “nothing.”

Gina Grundmeier and two of her daughters, Emma and Madison, were all sleeping in the same room when they awoke to the sound of smoke alarms in their house. They were still half asleep, somewhat in a dream state, according to Grundmeier.

When they opened the bedroom door, black smoke immediately came in. They didn’t have time to grab anything. Grundmeier and her daughters rushed outside, in their pajamas and without shoes. Many of the family’s friends and relatives arrived quickly to help with what they could.

Gina Grundmeier looks over insurance forms and tries to recall what was lost in her family's house fire. — Matt Peterson/newsroom@austindailyherald.com

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Her son, Wyatt, husband, Todd and his daughter, Raeann, were not at the home when it caught fire the morning of Nov. 8.

Grundmeier was very happy that she and her two daughters were in the same room together. “I’d hate to guess where they’d be today,” she said.

Now the family is faced with the task of itemizing everything that was lost in the fire and reporting it for the renter’s insurance company. With the help of friends, family, fellow church members and the community, they are getting some of the resources to do that.

“It’s hard because it was a 100-percent loss” Grundmeier said. “You can’t look in there and see what’s inside … the second floor is now part of the first floor”

“I just close my eyes and try to visualize my room,” Emma added. At her school, people suggested the family try to contact the people from the Extreme Makeover television show (a reality show that completely remodels and builds homes for families), among other possible solutions.

Grundmeier said she is very thankful that Innovision Optics has been helpful, too. Her kids had lost glasses in the fire, and Innovision replaced them within two days, something that other places could not do. However, the kids will likely be out of school for about a week while coping with the stress.

“It’s a lot of stress right now to put them through,” Grundmeier said.

She added that Target has also been a big help. She discovered through other people and the Internet that Target allows fire victims to scan items in their store that are similar to what they had in their homes. This allows the victims to get a good idea of what was in the home by seeing those things in the store, and it allows them to add those items and get the value of what was lost.

She also said there are many helpful web sites that list the value of items like old movies, among other things.

Grundmeier was frustrated because the task of itemizing everything that was in her home is nearly impossible. Her daughters were helping her fill the forms by trying to include every single item. Although the family can put a price on the material possessions that are gone, Grundmeier questioned how to account for things that one can’t put a price tag on.