After a fire at Chesapeake storage facility, one renter worries the irreplaceable was lost

Jan. 08--CHESAPEAKE -- Before she flew to Florida to take care of her 80-year-old father, Amy Harrell loaded her belongings into an 8-by-10-foot storage unit for safekeeping. In went her daughter's old stuffed panda, family pictures, clothes and her late mother's charm bracelet, which is adorned with little hearts and her name, "Judy."

Now, like many others, she fears the worst after a fire damaged roughly 100 units at the Extra Space Storage facility in Deep Creek last weekend.

"There are some things you just can't replace," Harrell said Tuesday morning.

The Fire Department completed its investigation of the blaze, which started Saturday night, but concluded that the cause was "undetermined," said Assistant Fire Marshal Steve Bradley.

Around noon Sunday, about 14 hours after the fire started, roughly 45 firefighters were still attempting to extinguish it. One was injured but is expected to make a full recovery. Bradley previously said that the number of storage spaces, which are "typically packed full of personal belongings," is why it took so long to fully control the fire.

And that's the same reason Harrell, 47, is fretting. Still down in Pensacola, Fla., she's worried her remaining possessions will be the two suitcases that she took with her. She left Chesapeake -- where she grew up -- in November, shortly after Thanksgiving. Her father has faced recent heart problems and needs help, she said.

Harrell tried to call the local and national offices of the storage company the past couple of days to get an update, she said. But she still doesn't know the status of her unit. Reached at the front desk of the facility on South Military Highway, an employee who answered the phone said the company declined to comment.

From pictures of the scene, Harrell said she noticed the fire was on the same side as her unit and appeared to be near the flames. At best, there's probably smoke and water damage, she said.

"Either way, it's not good," Harrell said.

She said she has about $3,000 worth of insurance for the unit, adding that this was the only time she didn't pick the full coverage. She had planned to move her belongings out in a month or two, she said.

Also in storage was many of her four children's baby items, including music, DVDs, clothes, family pictures and stuffed animals, which she had hoped to pass down when they had kids. She saved other belongings from her late mother, too, like her baby spoon. And practical items such as her winter and dress clothes.

Because the long drive back will be tough on her father, she is waiting to make sure she can enter the facility before heading back.

But in the meantime, she fears "it's all gone."

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