Posen couple will rebuild after structure fire Thursday

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

A collection of Ed and Denise Perrault?s most precious life possessions were destroyed in a complicated structure fire last Thursday in Pulawski Township, and while nobody was injured, the couple is trying to pick up the pieces of the destructive fire. The four-alarm fire broke out at 2:17 p.m. in the roof of the two-story home on 638 Highway. Denise, a special education teacher at Posen Consolidated School, was home during the district?s annual February winter break and smelled an unusual odor of smoke when she went to get the mail at the end of their driveway.

?I went around the back and there was smoke coming out of both sides of the soffits,? said Denise, who called 9-1-1. She also called her husband, a plumber who was working in Rogers City. Ed and the first firefighters on the scene had a difficult time locating the blaze. ?I ACTUALLY DID the initial attack,? said Posen Area Fire and Rescue captain Terry Buczkowski. ?When (Lt.) Jim (Budnik) pulled up with he truck, I got my gear on and grabbed an air pack, we both had the same thought, ?we got this. We got this taken care of.? ?

Using the department?s infrared imaging camera, Buczkowski went up to the second floor. ?I couldn?t find any flames. I could feel heat but couldn?t find it.? The fire was burning in a 12-inch gap between the two roofs. ?I was unaware of it (second roof),? said Ed. Buczkowski said, in his more than two decades with the fire department, he had never encountered a similar situation. Chief Burke Wozniak, a veteran of more than 40 years, echoed that sentiment. The fire spread to the rest of the roof and upper floor as a crew from Rogers City, with assistance from Case Township and Presque Isle Station No. 2, worked with a dozen fire fighters from Posen to get it under control.

?OVER A FOUR-hour period, I watched it go from a little bit of smoke to a total loss,? said Ed. ?They did all they could, but it?s still a total loss. We just redid the house. It was our way of dealing with the empty-nest syndrome.? The couples three dogs, that were in the attached garage, as well as a cat also made it to safety. Firefighters grabbed a grandfather clock Denise received when she graduated from college, family photos in the living room and a flat screen television, but the material losses far outnumbered the salvaged items, including Ed?s collection of sports cards valued at between $50,000 to $75,000. While the Perraults had the house properly insured, the card collection, which included tobacco baseball cards from 1907 to Gordie Howe?s rookie card and a thousand unopened packs, were not insured because he never inventoried them. ?How do you inventory a half a million cards?? Ed asked. The cards were located in a walk-in closet running the length of the upstairs, an area where the fire hit the hardest.

?The dwelling can be replaced,? said Ed, ?but it?s the things like the photographs, communion and prom dresses, and the Miss Posen gowns, that have been lost forever.? The closet also contained many musical instruments. ?We are not really down and out,? said Ed. ?I don?t want to offend anybody, but I don?t want to take money. We?re lucky. We?re both at points in our lives where we both have wonderful jobs. We live in a wonderful neighborhood.? ONLY 24 hours after the fire was under control, the Perraults were on the stage of the Rogers City Theater for the production of ?Curtains.? Both Ed and Denise agreed that not only would the play offer a distraction, but they didn?t want to let down the rest of the cast, who has worked for more than three-and-a-half months to bring the production together. ?There were 30 other people involved in this play,? said Ed. ?The play just wasn?t about us.?

The play had three shows last weekend and continues this weekend with three more. Denise said if there were something people could do for them it would be to grab a friend and be at one this weekend?s performances. Ed has one of the lead roles, while Denise is appearing in her first play with the local group. The Perraults received

immeasurable support from many people, especially Dale and Kathleen Noffze, as well as Mike and Lisa Noffze. They also commended the efforts of the firefighters and the Presque Isle County Red Cross for all their assistance.

?We couldn?t even read the entire list of people that have been there for us,? said Denise. ?We both loved that house and that?s why it is important it be built the same,? said Ed. The couple?s children include son Edward III, and daughters Elizabeth, Emily, Eleisha and Elyse. The cause of the fire is being listed as electrical, or a faulty ceiling vent fan motor in the bathroom.

The wood stove and chimney were ruled out as a cause, according to fire investigator John Kasuba of the Presque Isle County Sheriff?s Department. ?There was good cooperation with mutual aid, good cooperation with the sheriff?s department, their deputies helped out a ton,? said Buczkowski. ?They were hauling stuff when I asked them, and then they did traffic control because it was getting out of hand.?

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