Family escapes flames of mobile home, loses everything
by Peter Jakey
Managing Editor
Alicia Riley was just settling down for the night Monday with her son Hunter, 8. She had helped the third grader work on his times tables, and her other son, Dayton, 6, was already sleeping on the couch in the living room when the lights in her home started flickering.
The mobile home, located on top of a hill along an icy Five Mile Highway in Allis Township, was quickly burning out of control and there were only a few moments to get her two boys out.
Alicia and her companion of 11 years, Raymond Stiles, took a moment to assess the situation, but determined there was no other alternative.
?Around the (chimney), it just looked kind of red, a little bit hot maybe,? said Alicia. ?But then, when we went outside and the whole top of the roof was flaming outward. We ran out??
HUNTER AND Dayton were taken from their burning house wearing only their underwear. There was no time for them to put on their clothes or shoes.
?Hunter was freaking out, because they?ve done all of their fire study in school,? said Alicia. ?Hunter was freaking out because Dayton didn?t jump up. He said, ?Mom, Dayton is going to die!? ?
Nobody was injured getting out, and even the family cat got out. Mom and the boys went to the family van, and while Alicia drove down the hill to Five Mile Highway, she called 9-1-1 for the fire department to respond.
The family lost everything and that includes all of their Christmas presents. ?That?s all Dayton is thinking of, he?s only six-years-old,? said Alicia, who is already back to work as a waitress at Shelia?s Village Caf?.
In the aftermath, Riley remembered the Wang family of Rogers City. That winter house fire claimed the lives of five family members last February.
?Everybody keeps telling me, ?Thank God, you got out! And I do — I thank God for that,? she said.
THE ONAWAY Fire Department was dispatched at 9:30 p.m., and knowing the structure was already engulfed in flames, fire chief Roger Nash requested mutual aid from the Forest Waverly Fire Department.
Riley knew the roads were slick, but was impressed with the response time. Nash said it took about eight minutes to get to the scene and about 15 minutes to get the flames under control.
?I never realized you could lose so much stuff in just a few minutes,? said Riley. ?That was everything we had, and it is all gone.?
The smoke detector went off, but only after the building was engulfed in flames and filed with smoke, said Riley.
The mobile home was owned by Chris and Georgina Latoszinski, who live next door.
?We thought, if we had had a garden hose, we could have put it out, but as soon as the air got to the fire, the windows blew out,? she said. ?It went really quick after that. There was no saving it after that.?
Fire crews mopped up and were clear of the scene just before midnight. About the only items recovered were guitars given to Hunter and Dayton by their grandfather, but they are in need of repair.
?HUNTER AND Dayton will start talking that they lost their little BB gun, and to them that is a big thing,? she said. Many of the Christmas gifts the family received were in the living room, one of the closest rooms to the addition, where the wood stove was located.
Of more immediate concern to Alicia was where they were going to live after Thursday morning at 11 a.m. The Presque Isle American Red Cross has paid for their motel room in Onaway since Monday and also gave the family vouchers for food and clothing. Bu
?We could go to his (Raymond) mom?s home, which has nine people in it,? said Alicia, pausing for a moment to wipe tears from her eyes. ?It is way overcrowded. We?ve had so many friends offer, but how do you impose on them.?
The boys? sizes are 7-jean/medium shirts; 8-jeans/large shirt; Ray wears size 32/32 pants, large adult shirt; and for Alicia, size 12 pants and a large shirt. The family also will accept any furniture donations. The drop off point is at 3934 South Second Street, Onaway. For more information contact Donna Paull at 734-8800.
Nash said 14 firefighters from his department responded and used 3,000 gallons of water on the blaze.