Waynesville fire fighters help ease Christmas tragedy

Dec. 29--The agony of losing all everything they owned in a Christmas Day fire was eased for a Waynesville family by firefighters who passed the hat to raise funds for emergency provisions.

Brent Brenson and his family rented a two-bedroom brick home at 91 Galloway St. and left for several hours, only to return about 11:30 p.m. to find their home filled with smoke.

"It looked like the fire started in the living room," said Waynesville Fire Chief Joey Webb. There was a hole in the floor where the Christmas tree was, and the was smoke damage throughout the house. It destroyed everything they owned."

Upon responding to the fire and seeing the couple's small son playing outside with his little dump truck -- all the other Christmas gifts had been lost in the fire -- the fire fighters decided to take up a collection to help the family. Those who didn't have cash went to the ATM machine to get some.

In all, about $500 was raised that evening from both the fire fighters and police officers who responded to the emergency. Several in the crew knew managers at Walmart, who came to the store after hours to allow the family to pick up some essentials Christmas night.

"These firemen have big hearts," Webb said. "It doesn't matter whether it is the richest or poorest person in town, they just take care of people."

Luckily, the Brensons had renter's insurance, something that is a rarity, Webb said, and the homeowner, Daniel Bishop, had insurance as well. The family owned a trailer that was parked in the driveway but wasn't damaged, so is living in it until the home is repaired, he added.

While insurance investigators will determine the exact cause of the fire, Webb suspects the source was in the near the Christmas tree, which was totally burned up except for a limb.

"If trees aren't properly watered, it is amazing how fast they can go," Webb said. "Just YouTube Christmas tree fires and you'll see what can happen."

This year, the Brensons had their first -- and said it would be their last -- live Christmas tree, Webb added.

In a way, the Brensons were lucky in that the fire had smoldered so long it had died down by the time they returned. In some cases when a fire is starved for oxygen, it will create a backdraft when a door is opened and there will be an explosion.

This was not the first Christmas tree fire Waynesville had responded to this season, Webb said. Another home was damaged from smoke caused from a fire suspected to have been caused by lights on a mantle.

The activity set off an alarm, which came in as a burglary at first, Webb said, and a fire was found to be the cause.

"I know people like to leave lights on for others to enjoy, but if you are leaving the house, it is a good idea to unplug them and to unplug them when you go to bed," Webb advised.

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