Single mother mourns home lost to blaze

Dec. 22--JANESVILLE -- The Christmas presents might be in ashes, and the tree might be singed, but Tawania Pillow escaped a Saturday morning house fire with her two greatest gifts: her daughters Neaveh White, 13, and Nia Pillow, 7.

Virtually every other possession she had was lost in the blaze.

"I don't really care too much about that. I'm just happy I got my girls out," Pillow said as she rummaged through the charred remains of her home Monday afternoon. "They're kind of sad about it, but they're kids. I just try my best to do whatever I can for them."

Pillow lives on a fixed income, working a part-time job at Cracker Barrel. Her daughters' schools and ECHO donated Christmas presents Friday morning that were lost just hours later.

Pillow, a diabetic, had accidentally fallen asleep while heating oil to cook french fries. She awoke to her stove on fire. She quickly tried to douse the flames with flour, a trick her family had taught her.

"I tried to do everything in my power to put it out," she said.

When she realized it was hopeless, she grabbed her girls, and they left without so much as shoes on their feet. Pillow was too distraught to notice the cold.

She dialed 911, and the fire department headed for her apartment at 1416 Hamilton Ave. The fire wasn't too bad at first, but by the time firefighters arrived, it had consumed the kitchen, Pillow said.

"It was just a complete disaster," Pillow said.

The inferno caused $60,000 in damage to the apartment. The only salvageable possessions are clothes, most of which are covered in soot where they remain in closets and dressers. Pillow and her kids are living temporarily with her cousin in Janesville as they try to regain their composure.

Pillow doesn't have renters' insurance. She was told she has to pay a $10,000 deductible and has only days to get everything out of her destroyed apartment. As a single mother, she doesn't have a clue how she'll do it or where she'll go, she said.

"I've never been in a situation like this before," she said between sobs.

The last thing Pillow wants is to be homeless again. Before renting the apartment about four years ago, the family lived at the YWCA, Pillow said.

Joe Faust, a Disaster Action Team volunteer with the American Red Cross Wisconsin Chapter, was in Janesville on Saturday to help the family. He gave Pillow a debit card she could use to buy food, clothes and shoes, Pillow said.

She's thankful, even if she's not used to relying on others.

"I'm not one for asking people for help," she said. "I'm always trying to help others, you know?"

Fire is the biggest disaster threat to American families--more so than floods, hurricanes or tornadoes, according to a Red Cross news release.

The Red Cross recommends these fire safety tips:

--Keep flammable items at least 3 feet away from anything that gets hot, such as stoves and other sources of heat.

--Never smoke in bed.

--Turn off portable heaters when leaving a room or going to sleep.

--Install smoke alarms on the ceiling or high on the wall on every level of your home, outside each sleeping area and inside every bedroom. Test smoke alarms regularly, install new batteries annually and buy new smoke alarms every 10 years.

--Create a fire escape plan and practice it twice a year with everyone who lives in the home.

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(c)2015 The Janesville Gazette (Janesville, Wis.)

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