A fire that engulfed a Standish family’s mobile home on Tuesday inspired the community to reach out.
Shortly after 1 p.m., Scott Johnson, 15, and his friend were about to watch television at the Johnson’s home in Pine Tree Estates when Scott decided to get something from his room at the back of the house. When the boys opened the door, flames burst out, sending them running, barefoot and jacketless through the snow, to a neighbor’s house to call E-911.
But, even with firefighters from Buxton, Limington, Baldwin and Windham assisting Standish in battling the blaze, the home at 36 Holiday Lane is considered a total loss, with damage estimated at $45,000.
According to Standish Fire Chief Martin Jordan, the electrical fire started from a malfunction in a surge protector strip. Scott had plugged a fan into the strip, sparking the fire.
Although Scott initially blamed himself, Jordan called him a “hero.”
“He plugged it in but if something else had been plugged in instead at 11 o’clock at night, after they went to bed, there could have been loss of life,” Jordan said. “This way, the family is intact and safe.”
The family’s cats were not as fortunate. Two of the three were killed in the fire.
Scott’s parents, Gary and Grace Johnson, were in Portland getting Christmas presents for their children from the Bruce Roberts Fund when the fire broke out. His younger sister Amber, 13, was at school.
Neighbors immediately pitched in to help the family by locating the parents, keeping the boys warm and taking care of Amber when she arrived home from school. Both the Salvation Army and the Red Cross helped out, getting the family a hotel room and giving them food vouchers.
Likewise, response from the Standish community has been overwhelming. Town Hall has given the Johnson’s $1,000 that was donated to the town for such a purpose. Standish Fire/EMS has given the family $500 and is taking up a collection to help the family with additional expenses.
“The phones have been ringing off the walls with people wanting to help the family,” Jordan said.
Though firefighters pulled as much as they could from the burning home, the acrid stench of house fire and its black residue linger in the yard and on every surface, rendering most everything unsalvageable.
Ironically, this was not the first fire the family has experienced. About a dozen years ago, the Gardiner, Mass. apartment Gary and Grace shared went up in flames. The table and chairs given them after that first fire today lay charred and broken in the Standish yard, a vivid testament to the power those flames possessed.
Also ironic is Gary’s job at First Technologies in Standish. As a mechanic, he works on the machinery that manufactures the circuit breakers that are supposed to prevent electrical fires.
In spite of the devastation and the heartbreak, the Johnson family appears to be coping with their situation. They are amazed by and grateful for the community’s generosity and look forward to the day when they can be back in a home of their own – in Standish once again.
Gary Johnson of Standish surveys what is left after a fire ripped through his home Tuesday. Behind him is the remains of a table set his family was given after fire destroyed their Massachusetts apartment 12 years ago.Send questions/comments to the editors.
