Stovetop fire displaces family

June 18--adamfranz@ldnews.com

Black smoke came from the second floor windows of the residence at 342 N. Seventh St. at 12:23 p.m. Wednesday.

Sherry Williams, the resident, was coming home from taking a grandson to the doctor's when she got a call from her landlord.

"We were coming home from a doctor's appointment and I got a call from my landlord saying my apartment's on fire," Williams said.

The landlord, who wished to remain unidentified, was in the first floor business, "Bellisimas by Yani" when he heard the beeping of smoke detectors above him.

There were no injuries, two of her grandsons were with her and the other is at a camp, Duane Trautman, Lebanon City Fire Commissioner said.

Knowing her grandsons were safe, Williams' biggest concern was safely getting the urn of her deceased son out of the living room.

"My son's urn was in the living room," she said. "His ashes are in there. I know he's in heaven, but he's still my son."

Williams was physically relieved when a firefighter came out of the building with her son's urn.

"It's a little dirty, but it's okay," she said of the urn.

Trautman said the fire was caused by a stovetop that was left on with a pan of frying oil on top of it. Black, oily soot covered most of the kitchen ceiling and walls as a result of the fire, and the top of the oven had melted.

"They're lucky they didn't have cabinets above the stove, or it would have been a lot worse," Trautman said.

The Red Cross will provide Williams and her grandsons with housing while they look for a new residence. They did not have renters insurance.

There was no official estimate of property damage.

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