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I www.durhamregion.com THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, FEBRUARY 26, 2003 PAGE 3 Fire damage just the beginning Recovery is ^drawn-out process for family BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer CLARINGTON - After the smoke cleared from the fire that gutted her family's Haydon home, Susie Sargin- son realized there were a few things she wished she'd known about fire safety. And, she soon recognized the hard part had just begun. The night of the fire is just "the very beginning of a very, very busy time," she says. Mrs. Sarginson and her husband Brian, as well as their three daughters - Rachel, 13, Cheryl, 11, and Cathy, 9 - were sleeping on Dec. 2 at 3 a.m., when Mrs. Sarginson became aware there was a fire in their Maple Street home. The family and pets managed to get out of the home, and are now living in a modular home on their property, awaiting awaiting extensive repairs on their house. While the Sarginsons had an adequate adequate number of smoke detectors in their home, Mrs. Sarginson now wishes they had even more. "The smoke detector did go off, but it was far too late," she says, noting the fire started in the living room, far from the sleeping area and closed off by French doors from the rest of the house. The Clarington fire department has determined determined the fire was accidental, but the cause remains unknown. The hallway outside the family's sleeping quarters was filled with smoke by the time Mrs. Sarginson was awakened, awakened, she says. And that makes her wonder what would have happened if the fire had started in one of the bedrooms. bedrooms. "If something electrical shorts out in the bedroom, it would smoulder, creating creating a great deal of smoke," she says, noting she will have smoke detectors installed in all rooms that can be closed off from the rest of the house. "Imagine the amount of smoke it would take to set the smoke alarm off in the hallway if that bedroom door is closed." "Current codes require a smoke alarm on each level and they have to be electrical and interconnected," says Randy Reinert, fire-prevention officer with the Clarington Fire Department. Older homes are subject to even more "When I was in our home during the fire, I was actually asking myself, 'Why didn't anyone tell us these things?"' says Mrs. Sarginson. After the fire was extinguished, reality reality set in, says Mrs. Sarginson. "You don't have anything. You think, oh shoot, you can't even brush your teeth." The Red Cross was there immediately immediately with comfort kits for each member member of the family, says Mrs. Sarginson. The comfort kits are part of the Personal Personal Disaster Program, says Chris Merlin, Red Cross community services co-ordinator. The kits include basic toiletries toiletries like soap, shampoo, razors, feminine feminine hygiene products, a toothbrush and toothpaste. As well, fire victims are given a list of community resources and information information on recovering from the disaster. Under the program, a Red Cross volunteer volunteer is on hand within an hour in the south end of Durham Region. The hour guarantee will be extended to Scugog next month, says Ms. Merlin. The program ensures people get help "when they do need it," she says. "It also benefits the fire department ... we're sort of able to take people off their hands," she says. The Sarginsons expect to be in the modular home on their property for at least four more months, which presents space challenges. "The girls are all in one bedroom," relates Mrs. Sarginson. "They went from having all their own bedrooms and three bathrooms upstairs." The family is also working to inventory inventory their belongings lost either due to fire or smoke, for insurance purposes. They are required to itemize "every single single thing," right down to socks and underwear, underwear, says Mrs. Sarginson. Already, they've listed more than 1,000 items. Going back into the house was a frightening experience, she says. "When I went back in, I was devastated devastated because I wasn't prepared for what I was going to see. Everything in there was black, including inside the drawers," says Mrs. Sarginson. "I had Christmas presents in a box in the closet at the other end of the house (from where the fire occurred.) In the bottom of that box was black soot," she says. Mrs. Sarginson says moving back in may be difficult, since emotions over the fire arc still fairly raw. Even now, "you hear a crackle, even a heat vent, and you're awake," she says. "Everything makes you jump." Bowmanville Museum Presents March Break History Camp A full day program of children ages 5-10 offering: • Heritage crafts and games • Storytelling Museum tours Daytrip to Maple Syrup Festival at Clarke Museum Space is limited! Register early by calling 905-623-2734 RON PIETRONIRO/Statesman photo The Sarginson family, from left, Cheryl, 11, Cathy, 9, Rachel, 13 and mom Susie, stand in the hallway of their gutted home which they have started to renovate. A fire burnt the home down back in December. lax rules. However, more is better, says Mr. Reinert. "We strongly recommend having one inside each sleeping area and outside, outside, and one on each level," he says, noting it's also very important to test smoke detectors on a monthly basis. Mrs. Sarginson also highly recommends recommends having a rechargeable emergency emergency flashlight. When she entered her home's hallway the night of the fire, she found herself in pitch darkness. 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