Family loses all in fire

PALMER — The Felthauser family is feeling the pain of losing everything after their home burned to the ground Friday afternoon.

Fire crews from both Palmer and Central Mat-Su Fire Departments responded to the blaze on Winding Brook Loop off the Palmer-Wasilla Highway around 4 p.m. They were greeted with heavy, black smoke, loud explosions and a full, 250-gallon fuel tank against the house.

As neighbors scrambled to catch the family’s three dogs, the owner, Paul Felthauser, watched with his 84-year-old father, Donald, as everything went up in flames.

“My dad built this house,” Paul Felthauser said. “He had to go home because he couldn’t watch it anymore.”

Paul and Melissa Felthauser were in their car headed home from Anchorage Friday afternoon when they rounded a bend on Winding Brook and saw their house on fire.

“My sweetheart says she salvaged everything that was important — me, her puppies and her car,” Paul said of his wife, Melissa.

Felthauser said he was not sure what to do next, but he was happy no one was hurt. Red Cross of Alaska showed up and provided the family with housing and clothing vouchers, he said.

“The Red Cross has been really great,” Paul Felthauser said.

While the ashes of their home were still smoldering Friday, a neighbor showed up to offer some help, saying they were moving out of state and that if there was anything the Felthauser family needed they could have it. And the family will need a lot of help: all they have left are the clothes on their backs, he said.

He said the family plans to set up an account at Matanuska Valley Credit Union on Monday to accept donations from the community. In addition to cash, Felthauser said the family also needs lumber, household furnishing and clothing.

“Any help is appreciated,” he said.

Although eight fire trucks were on scene and at least twice as many firefighters, by the time hoses were hooked up and water was pumping, the house was completely engulfed. All that could be done was contain the fire and begin knocking down the flames.

“We have lost it all,” Felthauser said as he paced along the road in front of the house. “We had to make a choice between insurance and medication, and now it is all gone.”

He said he and his wife are both on Social Security disability and he is legally blind and depends on a Seeing Eye dog for assistance.

“My dog was going room-to room looking for me,” Felthauser said.

The couple’s son and grandson lived in a motor home on the property and were home when the fire began, he said. No one was injured in the blaze, he said.

“Our grandson even ran into the house with a fire extinguisher and emptied it on the fire,” Felthauser said.

Crews battled the fire for close to 30 minutes before getting it under control. The final call that the flames were out did not come in until 6:13 p.m., Friday.

Felthauser said he was told the fire started somewhere in his bedroom and spread quickly to the living room. But he said they have no information about the cause of the fire.

“At this point we have no idea what caused it, but it went through real fast,” Felthauser said.

In addition to ammunition that exploded in the fire, he said there were also oxygen bottles inside that blew up. He said the force of that explosion ripped the back walls off the structure.

The couple lost their house, one car and had three other vehicles on the property with various degrees of damage from the fire.

“So far I’ve managed to save one floor safe and a metal bell that was on the front porch,” Felthauser said.

If you wish to offer help, contact Gloria Felthauser from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 745-6265.

Photo editor Robert DeBerry can be reached at 352-2266 or robert.deberry@frontiersman.com.