Mother and Stepfather in House Fire

[Howling Wolf Leather]

Firefighters rescue elderly man, dogs from burning Hesperia home ~ Man airlifted with burns to 50 percent of his body June 22, 2009 - 9:42 AM

San Bernardino County firefighters pulled a disabled elderly man and his three dogs from his burning Hesperia home on Father’s Day night, officials said.

The man, who uses a wheelchair, was able to get into a hallway of his home, and that’s where rescuers were able to find the man, according to Megan Blaney, spokeswoman for the fire department.

“When they pulled him out, he had fairly significant burns to 50 percent of his body,” she said.

Rescuers airlifted the man to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

The fire broke out in the bedroom of the home around 10:15 p.m., Blaney said.

The man’s wife was able to escape the home and told rescuers her husband and pets were still trapped inside.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the bedroom of the home and knocked it down within 20 minutes, Blaney said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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The above is the first newspaper in regards to the fire at the house of my Mother Beverly and Stepfather Richard.

According to the doctors as of 5PM this evening Richard has 2nd and 3rd degree burns on just over 25% of his body.

My Mother who is in a different hospital than Richard seems to be stable but has been admitted to the hospital and we are unsure when she will be released but as of now they do not expect her to be released until the end of the week.

My mother and stepfather are elderly and due to the damage sustained to the house they were living in will not be able to live there and upon release from the hospital they will have to find a new home

I am working on setting up a way for people who are able to donate to assist them in moving, so please know that I will send an update as more information becomes available.

Please continue to pray for my Mother Beverly & Stepfather Richard who remain hospitalized at this time.

[Milli]

Firefighters rescue elderly man, dogs from burning Hesperia home ~ Man airlifted with burns to 50 percent of his body June 22, 2009 - 9:42 AM

San Bernardino County firefighters pulled a disabled elderly man and his three dogs from his burning Hesperia home on Father's Day night, officials said.

The man, who uses a wheelchair, was able to get into a hallway of his home, and that's where rescuers were able to find the man, according to Megan Blaney, spokeswoman for the fire department.

"When they pulled him out, he had fairly significant burns to 50 percent of his body," she said.

Rescuers airlifted the man to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

The fire broke out in the bedroom of the home around 10:15 p.m., Blaney said.

The man's wife was able to escape the home and told rescuers her husband and pets were still trapped inside.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the bedroom of the home and knocked it down within 20 minutes, Blaney said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The above is the first newspaper in regards to the fire at the house of my Mother Beverly and Stepfather Richard.

According to the doctors as of 5PM this evening Richard has 2nd and 3rd degree burns on just over 25% of his body.

My Mother who is in a different hospital than Richard seems to be stable but has been admitted to the hospital and we are unsure when she will be released but as of now they do not expect her to be released until the end of the week.

My mother and stepfather are elderly and due to the damage sustained to the house they were living in will not be able to live there and upon release from the hospital they will have to find a new home

I am working on setting up a way for people who are able to donate to assist them in moving, so please know that I will send an update as more information becomes available.

Please continue to pray for my Mother Beverly & Stepfather Richard who remain hospitalized at this time.

My thoughts and prayers are with your Mom and Stepdad, and you. Know that we are all thinking about you.

Milli

[Howling Wolf Leather]

My thoughts and prayers are with your Mom and Stepdad, and you. Know that we are all thinking about you.

Milli

Thank you very much

[Bree]

Prayer missiles have been launched and are speeding to the target. Hope everything works out OK and very sorry to hear about this terrible event.

Edited June 23, 2009 by Bree

[wildrose]

My prayers are with your family also!

[Howling Wolf Leather]

Thank you again for your words and prayers.

It has definitely been a difficult year thus far, losing my nephew in February (2 days before his 21st birthday) and then Richard (my stepfather) losing his brother two months ago, just to name a couple of things that have gone on.

Harvey just said today... if it weren't for bad luck my family would have no luck at all this year!

Updated information:

My Mother was released from the hospital today, she will be staying with my sister for the time being. (My sister lives around the corner from my mom and stepfathers house.

My Stepfather is still in a burn unit on a respirator in critical condition. his burns will require surgeries, the first of which is tentatively scheduled for tomorrow depending on how his vital signs etc are as of then.

Attached is a picture of my stepfather's wheelchair which was next to the bed in his room where the fire started.

Edited June 25, 2009 by SadEyes

[Milli]

I am so glad to hear your Mom is doing better. Like your signature says, "keep your head up".

Milli

[Howling Wolf Leather]

I am so glad to hear your Mom is doing better. Like your signature says, "keep your head up".

Milli

My stepfather continues to improve but remains hospitalized.

I will do a full update next week as time permits as soon as I have gathered all more information so as to be able to post it all at once.

Thank you all very much for your thoughts, prayers and donations to assist my family. Words cannot that you enough!

[Howling Wolf Leather]

First and foremost, I would like, on behalf of my family and myself to personally thank everyone who has sent prayers, thoughts, well wishes and donations of clothing and finances in order to assist our family during this current difficult time. It is appreciated more than words can say.

As many of you know, my mother Beverly and Stepfather Richard were involved in a house fire on June 21st 2009.

Media including KTLA, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, San Bernardino Sun, Press Enterprise and High Desert Press all wrote articles regarding he fire, thank you to them for letting people know about this happening and to the members of those media organizations that have asked for follow up information in regards to the condition and status of my mother and stepfather, I have been told at least 3 of these media outlets will print a follow up in regards to the families current situation.

Police officials helped my mother out of the home as she was trying to assist Richard in getting out; she was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Richard had to be pulled from his bedroom which was ablaze and was airlifted to the hospital.

Members for both Hesperia and Victorville fire departments were able to extinguish the fire within about 20 minutes according to news reports.

My mother was admitted to the hospital with smoke inhalation and was observed for cardiac issues and was released on June 24th.

Richard remains hospitalized in the burn unit for 2nd and 3rd degree burns on just over 25% of his body and for smoke inhalation.

Upon his hospitalization Richard was put on a ventilator to assist in removing soot from his lungs and later a conventional ventilator to assist his breathing as his lungs healed. He was taken off all ventilators and put on oxygen on June 27th. Richard underwent skin graph surgery on June 25th and a 2nd skin graph surgery on July 2nd. He is improving and doctors feel he may be able to be released as early as July 7th.

The dogs that were rescued were not the only pets in the house; there were also 3 cats that were taken out of the house on June 22nd by the fire marshal. My sister and her husband are now caring for the cats and the Red Cross is assisting with sheltering the dogs for 30 days.

The house was deemed unlivable and a notice not to occupy was placed on it. All of Richard's belongings were destroyed except for his Marine Dress Blue Uniform. Anyone who is or was a Marine can appreciate the fact this uniform belonging to an ex-marine withstood the fire and is still usable. The hat and belt from the uniform were singed but the rest of it seems to be OK according to my sister and her husband. Some items destroyed that must be replaced include Richard’s hospital bed, his wheelchair, his prosthetic leg, his crutches and all of his clothing and many other odds and ends we all take for granted as to having them.

Pictures of the devastation this fire caused to the house can be viewed at:

http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b389/San...nt=87318147.pbw

Because of not being able to return to their home and the costs it will take to replace the items that were destroyed the family has set up an account for people to be able to donate in order to assist with these costs.

Those wanting to donate to the Brasen Fire Fund can do so at any Chase Bank branch nationwide.

Be sure to provide the account number which is 344-3890228, as not all branches across the country may be able to access the account by name.

Thank you again for all of you have done for our family during this difficult time.

[Howling Wolf Leather]

You can now Donate Online by using the following Link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_...tton_id=6713381

Pictures of the devastation this fire caused:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b389/San...20House%20Fire/

Please pass this on to anyone who may be able to help my family.