House fire strands family of nine

March 15, 005

KATE GOLDEN/Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - A Wasilla-area family watched its house burn to the ground Friday night.

No one in the family of two parents, seven children and one on the way, two dogs and a cat was injured, according to a Central Mat-Su Fire Department release. The two-story, 20-by-40-foot unfinished house at 8323 West Tia Terrace, near Mile 9 Knik-Goose Bay Road - and all of its contents - were completely destroyed.

The fire started when 4-year-old Ryan Smith, playing with matches, lit his mattress on the second-floor loft on fire, said father Todd Smith.

"My wife had left for our church's production of 'Annie!' She was gone only a half hour when it happened," he said.

Christopher, 14, was babysitting Ryan and two other younger siblings, Andrew, 10, and Katie, 2. Parents Todd and Tammy Smith and children Kimber, 12, Sabrina, 8, and Ririe, 6, were not home at the time.

The home-schooled children had practiced fire exit drills. They knew what to do.

Christopher and Andrew got Ryan, Katie and the two dogs out of the house. They went to a neighbor's house and called 911.

"The children did exactly what they were supposed to do, getting everybody out of the house," Fire Chief Jack Krill Jr. said.

Tinkerbell, the family's cat, showed up several hours later, unscathed.

When Krill arrived, the first officer on the scene, the metal roof was still intact, but the entire structure was already on fire.

"There were flames coming up out of all four sides of the structure," he said. "We got a knockdown within 10 or 15 minutes."

By the time the dog and the kids were out and 911 called, the room had already been on fire for five minutes or so, Krill said.

"[For] a big open room like that, five minutes is a lot," he said. "But it wouldn't have meant that we saved anything more."

All told, more than 30 firefighters responded to the blaze. They secured the propane tank outside and saved a travel trailer next to the house.

"The fire … torched some of the trees, but it didn't burn them," Krill said.

Property damage was difficult to estimate as there was no current assessment available, but Krill said they estimated the house's value was from $60,000 to $70,000 and the contents another $20,000 to $30,000.

Todd and Tammy Smith were building their house out of pocket. They had no insurance.

"They lost everything. It's hard to explain to a kid that they won't be able to participate in the Pinewood Derby because the car they worked on for so long was in the fire. How do you explain that?" said Amy Earle, sister of Tammy Smith.

Community and local organizations have flocked to help the displaced family. Relatives, friends, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the American Red Cross have been enlisted and are collecting supplies for immediate aid and promises of labor to rebuild the house.

An account has been set up for the family at Wells Fargo. Checks should be made payable to Hope's Helping Hand and may be left at the Frontiersman general office.

"Please remember to secure matches and lighters from children to prevent this tragedy from happening to your family," Krill said.

"We're just thankful that nobody was hurt," Todd Smith said.

Contact Kate Golden at 352-2284 or kate.golden@frontiersman.com.