Mementos from charred rubble help them move on
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in chief
Sharon Klein, who lost her husband to cancer a year-and-a-half ago, said through tears Tuesday that she felt she lost him all over again after a fire ravaged the duplex that she, her two sons and her husband once called home.
Along with the clothes, the furniture and the housewares, the fire Monday at the Joan Street duplex where Klein lived took priceless keepsakes – photos and mementos that captured some of the best moments of the 20 years they were married.
But just as Klein prepared herself Monday to accept a total loss, a few of those mementos proved too tested-by-love tough to be consumed by ordinary fire.
“The fire department and the others (at the scene) were wonderful,” Klein said, who watched with gratitude as they pulled from the remains a jewelry box containing the wedding rings she and her late husband wore along with a cedar chest containing several family treasures.
Demolition crews from the Wanasek Corp. used the extendable arm of an excavation shovel to retrieve the jewelry box and the cedar chest from the rubble.
City of Burlington Police Chief Peter Nimmer said it was “pretty remarkable” that the contents of the charred cedar chest were not damaged.
Along with some photos and documents in the cedar chest was a fiddle owned by the grandfather of Klein’s late husband.
“He used to play it on his porch in the Ozarks like they did in the old days,” Klein said.
Nimmer said the recovery of the keepsakes was a testament to the efforts of small-city responders.
“It’s just one of those things where a community response is so great,” Nimmer said.
Possessions gone
While the recovered keepsakes put a ray of sunshine on an otherwise dismal day, Klein, her sons John, 20, and Joe, 16, as well as the couple who lived in the other unit – Joshua and Janice Cooper – face an uphill climb.
Neither the Kleins nor the Coopers had renters insurance, meaning the personal belongings that aren’t recovered will not be replaced.
In addition to their household possession, the Coopers lost a car and a motorcycle that were parked in the driveway next to the fire. The car was insured, Janice Cooper said, but the motorcycle was not.
Cooper said Tuesday afternoon it was “surreal” to realize the personal impact of the fire.
“Everything you’ve owned for 35 years (is) just gone,” she said. “I’m not sure it’s 100 percent sunken in. I’ve been in tears off and on for the last 24 hours.”
However, she added, the community response to their personal tragedy has been overwhelming and heartwarming.
From the passersby who banged on her door to roust her from the burning home to the many people who have stepped up with offers of clothing, household items and other donations, Cooper said, “Everyone has been wonderful.”
Cooper and her husband have been staying with Janice’s mother in Burlington while the Kleins have been staying with friends in Union Grove.
Banging at the door
The fire was reported through a 911 call about 1:18 p.m. Monday. Steve Steinke, 16, who lives with the Kleins, was the only one home at 372 Joan Street and Janice Cooper, who was napping on the couch, was the only one home at 374.
According to Cooper, apparently the passerby who made the 911 call approached to warn her about the fire.
“I awoke to someone banging on the door – which isn’t too unusual because we have two teenage boys living on the other half,” she said. “But the banging became more frantic and I went to the door and there was a man saying, ‘Your house is on fire.’”
That man, who remained unidentified as of Tuesday, went back into the house with Steinke, who had fled the other unit, and Cooper to retrieve Cooper’s cats.
Steinke reportedly ventured upstairs through the smoke to collect one of the cats.
Cooper said she was grateful for the efforts of both, especially the passerby.
“I have no idea who this wonderful man was,” she said. “He left his family in his car to come into my burning house.”
Sharon Klein was at work in Kenosha when the fire broke out and was notified by phone. Joe Klein was at a friend’s house and was visibly shaken by the sight of his home in flames when he arrived at the scene. A city police office had to call out to Joe Klein to keep him from running to the burning house.
For Cooper, it was an out-of-body experience.
“You always think it happens to someone else until it’s you,” she said, recalling that several years ago she watched a neighbor’s home burn to the ground never once considering it would also happen to her.
Through it all, Cooper said she remains optimistic thanks mainly to the response of the community.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “The community has been very kind, helpful and supportive.”
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