In many ways, Doug and Jeri Smart were fortunate. As lucky as two people can be, who spent Thursday evening in a neighbor’s truck, barefoot and barely clothed, as they watched firefighters wage a losing battle to save their home and belongings.
“Doug was going to warm up the stove before he went to run an errand to the pharmacy,” Jeri said. “I went to lie down and fell asleep. If he hadn’t waited to preheat the stove until he returned, I probably would be watching all of this from up above.”
She woke to Doug’s hysterical cries of her name and “fire.” Grabbing the phone to call 911 and running out the door, she saw sheets of flame completely engulfing the kitchen.
San Juan County Fire Marshal Robert Low and the Orcas Island Fire Department are still investigating the apparent propane stove fire that destroyed the Smarts’ home at 180 North Beach Road on Jan. 8.
The Fire Department’s Eastsound Engine 21 responded within nine minutes to Jeri’s emergency call at 5:41 p.m. Division Chief Patrick Shepler was one of the first on the scene and found the house fully engulfed in fire.
“They barely escaped,” Shepler said. “When we arrived we saw fire shooting from every window in the structure. There was a barn just 10 feet away from the home that had paint thinner, lacquer and all types of flammable things inside. We were lucky to save it.”
Twenty-seven fire and rescue workers attacked the blaze, cut a whole in the wall of the barn, and injected compressed air foam to stop the fire from spreading. The fire was declared under control at approximately 6:50 p.m. although, firefighters were on the scene until 10:30 p.m. tearing down the unstable walls.”
In addition to Doug and Jeri, their dog Cowboy and their 12 horses all escaped injury. The Smarts also feel fortunate to have their bed and breakfast, Walking Horse Farm, on the property so they have a familiar place they could move right into.
Neighbors started arriving with food and offers of clothing while the firefighters were still on the scene. Jeri had only the pajamas she was wearing when the blaze broke out, and Doug had on only his shorts.
“We were numb,” Jeri said. “We just felt disbelief at what we were seeing. All of our better and nicer more personal items were in the house. My parents had just passed away last year. Many of my mother’s precious things that she wanted the family to have were destroyed.”
“We appreciate nice things but we are not a family about things,” she added. “We have two wonderful daughters and two wonderful grandchildren. We will use this as an example to show the children how life goes on when tragedy strikes.”
But not everything was destroyed after all. On the morning after the fire, as the fire marshals began looking through the house, they discovered a plastic bin of photographs. It may be the only item to have survived the fire intact. Jeri says the bin contained an “amazing amount of history” that her mother-in-law had compiled about her husband.
“There have been tears, and there will be more tears, but there also has been some joy,” Jeri said.
“People we know, and people we didn’t know, have all treated us like we were best friends. They have brought us dinners, food, groceries, and offers of help. They have been amazing.”
The first step for the Smarts will be to get their identities back. They have no licenses, birth certificates or wallets and the keys to their vehicles melted in the fire. All have to be replaced.
“We have to start from the beginning,” Jeri said. “We are go-forward people. We can’t do anything about what has happened. We just have to keep functioning and move forward.”
