Kerrville couple tries to recover after house fire

July 16--A Kerrville couple is working to rebuild their lives out of the ashes of a house fire that destroyed their belongings.

"When your house burns down and you don't have anything, the question is, 'What's the next right step?'" said Liz Cravens. "There's not a set guideline on what to do after something like this happens. You don't get life skills on this in high school or college."

Cravens and her fiancé, Patrick McGowan, were in Dallas visiting family over the weekend when the house they were renting on Prescott Street caught fire. Early in the morning on July 10, police officers patrolling the neighborhood smelled smoke but could not immediately identify the location. Kerrville Fire Marshal Chris Lee said a call came in to the fire station at 3:26 a.m.

"It didn't burn down completely," Lee said. "The fire was in the kitchen area. It consumed about all of the kitchen and a part of the living room."

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although Cravens said she thinks it was an electrical fire.

"A contractor at some point built a roof on top of the original roof," Cravens said. "The fire got caught between two roofs. The tar and shingles just ignited."

Cravens said everything was lost in the fire, including their husky, Simba.

"He was my first thought when I got the call from the fire marshal," Cravens said. "He was just a light. He was the happiest dog you had ever met in your entire life. We would spend two hours chasing him around the neighborhood."

The couple is staying at a friend's house for the time being, and Cravens said Friday they had found a place to rent in San Antonio.

McGowan and Cravens did not have renter's insurance.

"We just want a place to lay our heads," McGowan said. "We've had a lot of support and generosity from people, family and friends. We are so humbled and thankful for that."

Lee said the owners of the house did have insurance.

"Unfortunately, because of the age of the home and the pretty extensive damage, they are not going to be able to save the home," Lee said.

On top of everything else, McGowan and Cravens are getting married Aug. 13 at the Kerrville Zion Lutheran Church, which Cravens pointed out was recently struck by lightning. Cravens' wedding dress, along with invitations and decorations, were lost in the fire.

"We thought about postponing it, but I think both Patrick and I both don't want to go through this alone or feel like we have to put our lives on hold more so than we already have," Cravens said. "At the end of the day, it was just a dress. I can get a new one. In the wake of this tragic disaster, why not have some kind of goodness?"

Cravens said the couple has received help from the local fire association and the recovery community. Cravens and McGowan both work for Awakenings Hill Country, an all-women drug and alcohol recovery center in Fredericksburg.

"The sober community here in Kerrville has donated more than $15,000 to help us rebuild, but then we have that money to start to buy new stuff but we have no where to put it," Cravens said.

McGowan said they are in an awkward spot right now. They have enough money to put a down payment on a house, but then wouldn't have enough left over to fill the house.

"You feel like you're working hard on getting your life back together and having some sense of normalcy, and then you'll just break down out of nowhere and you can't function," Cravens said. "That's been one of the hardest things. The world doesn't stop for you because you have a tragedy. It will pause, but at some point, you have to get back on the horse and keep going."

Cravens said this was the second house fire she had been in since moving to Kerrville six years ago. In 2011, an electric fire started in the living room one night. Cravens and her roommate were in the house at the time, and were able to escape through a back window.

"How does this happen to one person in six years?" Cravens said.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for the couple at www.gofundme.com/2dntagpg.

Cravens said people also can reach her by email at [email protected].

There is another GoFundMe for Kerrville residents Caitlin Cravy and Brittany Lowry, www.gofundme.com/2dp5vh8, who also lost belongings in the fire.

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