Fire victims offered places to stay

January 06, 2009 06:48 am

— DANVILLE -- A Danville couple, whose home was destroyed by fire, their cat killed and their dog missing, recently got some good news.
Robert and Linda McCormick have received calls from people owning properties in West Milton, Riverside and Berwick offering prospective places up for rent.
The Danville Area Red Cross Chapter issued a plea for housing for the McCormicks, who hope to rent in the Danville area.
Robert, 47, works at Swisher's Disposal in the Bloomsburg area and Linda is disabled. They need a ground-floor location since Linda has trouble with steps. The Riverside location was a mobile home.
"It's a blessing how people are -- especially when you come from a big city," said Linda who is from the St. Louis, Mo., area.
Besides calls about places to rent, they got a couple calls from people with furniture to give them.
"One woman said she'd hang onto it until we move," Robert said.
Insurance from Robert's mother, Nancy McCormick, who owns the house destroyed by fire, covered their stay at the Red Roof Inn through Friday. Linda expected to receive her disability check Friday and use it to extend their stay.
"We have set up some appointments to go look," Linda said Friday. "The West Milton one includes everything and some furniture."
This isn't the first fire she has experienced.
"I remember as a little girl, my mother, me and my dad went somewhere and when we came back, the house was on fire," she said. "I vaguely remember it but I will never forget it."
Linda said their cat, Frisky, died in the fire at their home at 715 E. Market St. on Dec. 26.
They fear their red Dachshund, Zanzibar, also died.
"He woke me up pretty good and then I heard a boom and saw flames," Linda said. "I said to Bob, let's go.
"I'm afraid he was caught inside the house."
Calls were made to the Danville SPCA to see if anyone found their dog and brought him there, and "the neighbors are keeping an eye out," she said.
Both the cat and dog woke them up, alerting them to the fire.
"If we find our dog still alive, he will be treated like a king," she said.
Linda last saw him around her feet as they were leaving the house through the back door. The blaze started in a space heater in a first-floor bathroom. The McCormicks were sleeping on futons in the first-floor living room at the time.
"We're thankful we got out alive," said Robert, who helped Linda get out of the house.
In the rush, the couple forgot Linda's cane, but once again the generous community came to her aid.
"Thank goodness someone had a cane and donated it to me," Linda said.
While helping his wife to safety, Robert burned his face, hand and shoulder. He didn't go to the hospital for treatment.
Besides their pets, Linda misses her clown and teddy bear collections.
"I had dishes with bears on them," Linda said. "My mother who recently retired and downsized sent me her blue china dishes that I always wanted."
They were also lost in the blaze.
Linda, 51, contracted rheumatic fever along with asthma and bronchitis when she was a young girl. Since living in Danville, she has undergone three surgeries related to hernias.
"Robert's mom is from here," she said. "He likes it up here."
The couple, married 18 years, have lived in Danville since 1995.
The Danville Area Red Cross helped them out with lodging at the hotel and The Good Samaritan Mission provided them with clothing. Once they find a place to live, other agencies may be able to help them with their needs.
E-mail comments to kblackledge@thedanvillenews.com.

Photos

Linda and Robert McCormick have some prospects on finding rental housing after a fire destroyed the home they were renting in Danville. Their cat perished in the blaze and they fear their dog died as well.