Family hopes to rebuild after devastating house fire

March 15, 2005

CASEY RESSLER/Frontiersman Valley Life Editor

A Wasilla-area family who lost everything in a house fire Friday night is thankful for the enormous support of giving from the community, they said.

Friday, Todd and Tammy Smith's home in Inlet View Subdivision on Knik Goose-Bay Road burned to the ground. Thankfully, none of the family's seven children were injured, but the home was a total loss. The family was building the house out-of-pocket for the last two years, and they didn't have fire insurance.

"We were paying for it as we went because we have children who are going to be going to college, and we didn't want to be in debt and have a mortgage," Todd Smith said. "The good thing is that we aren't paying for a dead horse. At least we're not paying for something we don't have."

In just two days, many community organizations and businesses have offered support. Hope's Helping Hand, a nonprofit organization run by the Frontiersman, is hoping community donations can be funneled back to the family, as a way of helping them rebuild their home, and their lives.

Hope's Helping Hand has no administrative costs attached - every penny donated goes directly to help families in need. People can donate money for the Smith family at the Frontiersman office, or by mailing checks, made payable to Hope's Helping Hand, to 5751 E. Mayflower Court, Wasilla, AK 99654. All donations made are tax-deductible.

So far, the family has been overwhelmed by the response.

"There's been a lot of help offered, and it has blown me away," Smith said. "Frankly, the thought of these people has been worth more than a million dollars to us. Just the fact people want to help has made us feel so good."

The Smiths have been building their home for two years. In January, the entire kitchen had been completed, which came on the heels of the main bathroom being completed. This summer, the master bedroom and several other bedrooms were going to be completed, Smith said.

"We put a lot of blood, sweat and time into the house," he said. "At least we got to enjoy the luxury of using the bathroom in the house and not the travel trailer for a while."

Last Friday, Tammy Smith left for practice for her church's production of "Annie!" leaving her 14-year-old son at home with the family's 4-year-old. The 4-year-old played with matches, starting his mattress on fire, which quickly spread. The 14-year-old called 911 immediately, but by the time firefighters got there, the house was destroyed.

"I was working in Anchorage, and that was a long drive home," Smith said.

Smith is a subcontractor, and he said that at least the fire didn't take his tools.

"I felt fortunate that I didn't lose my tools, so I can still make a living to help us," Smith said. "It would have been real hard to make a living for us if we would have lost my tools. It's been a rough weekend for us, but that was one of many little positives."

Many things have already been offered the Smiths, from a contractor willing to oversee the rebuilding of their home to the donation of kitchen cabinets, when it reaches that point. Still, they are virtually rebuilding from the ground up, and any help would be appreciated, from household items to building supplies.

Money raised through Hope's Helping Hand will go to help that rebuilding effort.

The family was staying in a hotel courtesy of the American Red Cross, but that was only through Monday. Smith said they family has a couple of leads on rentals right now, and there is always family.

"Throughout our careers, we have always had family staying with us here and there when they've needed to, and now they all want us to stay with them," Smith said.

For more information about the Hope's Helping Hand program, interested people can call Kari Sleight, publisher of the Frontiersman, at 352-2250.