Saturday, September 29, 2007

Woman has faith despite loss of home

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas Despite losing her home to a fire last week and continuing to struggle with chronic health problems, Shirley Knodel has faith that she will overcome the latest of many obstacles she's had to face.

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Knodel, who suffered the loss of her husband, Larry, in 2004 and her only daughter, Tandra, two years ago, is now living in a Los Lunas motel wondering what she'll do next.

According to Valencia County Fire Chief Charles Eaton, firefighters were called to Knodel's doublewide mobile home on Ajay Place on the morning of Friday, Sept. 21, to a structure fire. Members of the Los Lunas Fire Department arrived on the scene first as firefighters from Los Chavez, Jarales-Pueblitos and Peralta arrived to fight the blaze.

"A neighbor said the place was full of oxygen bottles and to be careful," said Los Lunas Fire Chief Lito Chavez. "When we got there, flames were coming out from the windows and through the roof. It was really cooking. Hopefully, she was able to get a few things out of there."

Eaton said the home sustained considerable fire and smoke damage, and he estimates that the structure itself is a total loss. He did say some of the homeowner's personal belongings could be salvaged.

While fire investigators haven't determined a cause for the fire, Knodel suspects it may have started with some sort of short in the home's electrical system.

Knodel has been suffering from tumors in her larynx, is on oxygen for pleurisy of the lungs and has had two back surgeries. And before last week, all she could think was that she was grateful to have a home.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life," Knodel said of the fire that destroyed her home. "I was fixing on getting into the bathtub when I thought I needed to go to the mailbox first."

Knodel said she walked down her driveway to the mailbox and then, when she walked back into her home, she smelled smoke. Wondering where the smell was coming from, Knodel walked down the hall when she saw what she described as a bright flare coming from her bedroom.

"I run in and the wall behind my headboard was on fire," she said. "Then the drapes caught fire, and it comes over to my mattress."

In an effort to save her own home, Knodel grabbed a pitcher she had in her bedroom to water her plants, filled it up twice and threw it on the flames. But the fire was already too big for her to handle.

"I panicked," she said. "I ran down the hall, and I tried to use the phone, but it was dead — the fire had already burned the lines. I grabbed my purse and got the keys to my car. All I could think of was that I had to get to the end of the street and call for help."

As Knodel backed out of her driveway, her neighbor came running up telling her not to leave because her house was on fire. She told him that she was trying to get to a telephone to call for help. He already had, she said.

"I was so shook up I backed up and hit his trashcan and into his fence," she said. "All I wanted to do was go back inside and get my important papers, my pictures. But he (the neighbor) wouldn't let me."

As she sat outside her house watching firefighters save what they could, Knodel's neighbor brought her a pair of sweatpants, a shirt and a blanket to wrap her in. The rest of her belongings either burned or are now soaked in smoke, she said.

Knodel, who had been renting the home for several years, didn't have renters insurance and is living on her Social Security benefits. The American Red Cross did pay for her to stay in a local hotel for a few days and gave her vouchers for food and clothing, and the Methodist church in Peralta gave her $90 in gift cards, but she's still left with wondering where she'll live.

While Knodel may not be left with much after the fire, she's grateful that she and her dog, Bowzer, and her cat, Blue, survived.

"I'm strong, and I know the Lord did this for some reason," Knodel said. "There is a reason for this, and He's with me and pulling me through this. I lost everything, and I didn't lose Him."

A bank account has been set up at the First Community Bank to help Knodel get back on her feet. Ask for the special emergency fund for Shirley Knodel.

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