Woman saves grandma from fire

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, November 21, 2006

JOHN DAY – A 22-year-old woman saved the life of her legally blind grandmother early Monday after waking her and escorting her from a burning trailer house that exploded minutes later.

Flames were pouring out of the structure when the John Day Fire Department arrived about 12:15 a.m.

In the darkness of early morning, the flames illuminated the shell of the trailer they were consuming and lit up the ground outside.

Janet Phillips, 64, lost her home and all her possessions in the blaze at the John Day Trailer Park, 660 W. Main St. She had no insurance on the trailer or possessions, relatives said.

A state fire marshal from Pendleton determined later Monday a woodstove likely caused the fire. The dampers on the stove were not shut down, and apparently a hot ember came into contact with a couch, said Steve Allen, fire department chief. It was the third fire call for the volunteer department in less than 36 hours.

Melina Schafer, Phillips’ granddaughter, said she was dozing in bed, half asleep and half awake when she rose to go to the bathroom.

“I opened the bedroom door. I saw the couch was on fire,” she recalled. She alerted her boyfriend, Alex Barajas, 24, who was sleeping in the bedroom.

Schafer ran past the burning couch to the bedroom of her grandmother, who was also asleep. “I said, ‘Grandma, grandma. There’s a fire,” Schafer said.

“I held her hand and I pulled her across the room. I took her down the stairs and ran next door to see if anybody had a fire extinguisher. Nobody did. I went back, and I was about 20 feet away and it just blew up, a big boom,” Schafer said. A fourth resident of the trailer was not home at the time of the fire.

“My daughter called us as soon as she had my mom out,” said Serena Dancer, of John Day, Schafer’s mother. “My mom lost everything she owns,” Dancer said.

“All that matters though is Melina saved her grandma,” she said. “She’s a hero,” Dancer said of her daughter. A tearful Schafer, being comforted by her mom at the scene, said, “I don’t want to be a hero.”

The explosion heard by Schafer and others was apparently caused by a small propane bottle torch in the trailer which was used to light the woodstove.

Barajas saved the family dog, Lilly, but a cat and hamster apparently died in the blaze.

Phillips had lived at the park about 10 years. A donation fund has been set up at Old West Federal Credit Union in her name.

As John Day firefighters battled the blaze, nearby residents in bathrobes looked on in shock as the scorching flames broke out windows and lapped at trees. John Day police provided traffic control on Main Street.

Charles Hunt, 61, lives directly north of the burning trailer.

“I was snoring away and I heard something blow,” Hunt said. “I baled out of bed. I asked my son, Walt, what was going on. It sounded like gunshots or propane fuel exploding,” Hunt said.

Once outside, Hunt saw the flames next door. He and his son hosed down structures while waiting for the fire department.

Ben Thompson, a volunteer with the John Day Police Department, and Police Officer Richard Gray were making a routine traffic stop across the street from the fire, when they heard a loud sound.

“We heard this pop. We looked over here and saw the flames,” Thompson said. Gray and Thompson ran across the street and knocked on the doors of nearby trailers to roust tenants.

“They were just bringing the grandma out when we got here,” Thompson said.

Mary Gibson, site manager for the Budget 8 Motel across the street, immediately brought Phillips into her home at the motel as firefighters arrived on the scene. She also gave Gray and Thompson a couple of garden hoses to wet down other structures and trees near the fire.

Brian and Kathleen Wolf, who just purchased the trailer park in October, live on-site at the far end of the park, and were alerted by other residents at the scene. The park has 17 trailers, they said.

Canyon City firefighters assisted the John Day department.

American Red Cross employees from Pendleton arrived Monday to assist Phillips and the other residents of the trailer. Schafer had been living temporarily with her grandmother, awaiting the opening of an apartment at a local complex.

Firefighters were called to two other fires between early Friday and early Monday. A cigarette ember that fell and smoldered in bedding caused a fire at 5:15 a.m. Friday at 100 SE Hillcrest Drive, Allen said. The fire severely damaged an upstairs bedroom in house owned by Maryann Blem, Allen said. Blem and a friend escaped unharmed.

Firefighters were also called to a residence on Main Street Sunday evening, but determined there was no fire, just a plastic pot handle that had melted from contact with a stovetop gas flame.

Fire Chief Allen urged area residents to use caution with woodstoves and other heating sources as the winter heating season continues.

“My advice is to be sure and clean your chimney. If you’re installing a woodstove…be sure and have it inspected by a licensed person,” Allen said.

Residents should make sure smoke alarms are operating and have fire extinguishers capable of fighting all types of fires, he said.