Contributed by: CBrining
Click "read more" for full article
"At first I thought Seven made it out," Takach said. "It was difficult when we found out he didn't survive." Takach owned the cat for more than a decade, even before he moved into the 1950s rancher.
Things were quiet before the fire. Everyone was in bed. Everything changed so quickly. The home's electricity shut off, and the darkness and thick smoke made it nearly impossible to see. Takach is just glad he woke up in time.
"I saw the flames and I realized we had to get out so I started yelling," he said.
The yelling pulled Douglas and Zach Takach out of their sleep.
"I heard him yelling and didn't even think," Douglas said. "I tried to get out, but I couldn't open the door." She escaped through a bedroom window and ran to John and Janice Acquaviva's home across the street to call 911.
Trucks from Port Republic, Oceanville and Germania fire companies lined the street, with firefighters snaking hoses to the home to put out the fire. It took firefighters less than an hour to accomplish that goal.
Takach returned to his home Thursday morning to bury Seven and inspect the damage. The front door and window exploded from the heat, so glass slivers covered the grass. The gutter, twisted and melted and hanging halfway to the ground, slapped the charred siding when a breeze came. Black clung to the burgundy siding like moss or ivy.
Smoke and flames destroyed most of the family's belongings. All the Christmas presents under the tree? Gone.
Takach misses his CD collection - two decades of music memories. His remaining clothes carry that thick, heavy fire smell in the fibers. If the smell doesn't go away, Takach is going to have to get rid of them, too.
Zach Takach visited the house with his friends midday Thursday. They walked through the home and around the backyard, then they stood around for a little while. You can only say "wow" and "sorry" so many times, in so many ways, so Zach and his friends didn't say too much, just looked at the burned-out home with boards over the front window and door, remembering what used to be.
Fire investigators will study the damage Friday. Officials think the stove is responsible, but it's too early to say for sure. Takach thinks the house will have to be torn down, since the walls received so much damage. He has homeowner's insurance, but the money won't be able to replace everything.
For now, Takach is staying at Douglas' house. Zach Takach spent time at his grandmother's Thursday. It was Christmas, after all.
"There's always next Christmas, but this year we took it on the chin," Takach said. "I'm just thankful that we were able to make it out."
E-mail Dan Good: DGood@pressofac.com
Elwood Fire Rescue
https://www.evfc160.com/main/article.php/20081226072652165
