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Sandi Shaner
Photos by: Sandi Shaner
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When Tragedy Strikes a Family, What Can They Do?
by Sandi Shaner
On January 7th, 2008, Denise Tingler, husband Arthur "Skip" Gran, and daughter Melody, all started their morning rituals. Then, 8 months pregnant, Denise dropped Melody off at school and continued on to work. Art gathered his belongings and began his long commute to work. A typical routine for an average family.
This seemed like every other day, but that day, their lives were about to change... for the worst. At 12:30, while returning from her part time job, Denise received a frantic call from her mother saying that her home was on fire. Overwhelmed and scared, she tried to rush home. On her way, she put a call in to Art, and informed him of what happened. Every red light seemed like a roadblock. Every minute she was consumed with fear. When she arrived at her house, she was shocked to see the black smoke coming from the top of the roof. The front window, which used to be the focal point of the house, was now broken and charred. The stench of smoke and burnt plastic filled the air. There were firetrucks blocking the street and firemen on the roof and all around the house. This was not a bad dream! It was real!
The first thing that came to her mind was, "Where are the pets?" By the grace of God, they were okay. The neighbors had gathered up their two dogs. Then, "Is the fire in just one room?" You could not tell from the front of the house, and the closest she was allowed to the property was across the street. So, she sat on the curb and waited. She thought through how this could have happened. What could have caused this tragedy?
Arthur and Melody soon joined her. Holding each other, they felt blessed that at least no one was at home when this happened. "We are a family, we will get through this," she told herself.
Finally, the fire marshal came over to them and showed them the faulty six-plex plug that caused the fire. It began in Melody's (16) room. The fire marshal also stated that their next-door neighbor, Patrick, actually put the flames out with two garden hoses, which saved the structure of the home and the other homes on the block.
The damage was much greater than they could have ever imagined. The house was completely uninhabitable. Melody's room was completely gone. Besides the contents of her school backpack, she lost every thing she ever owned, like all of her clothes, pictures, memorabilia, a pink Dean Guitar her father gave her, the Simba stuffed toy that she had since she was three years old, and the ashes of her deceased dog. Items she had accumulated in her 16 years of living on this earth were now in a pile of rubbish.
The hall bathroom and the kitchen need to be completely replaced. The panoramic wall mural that Art had painted in the baby's room was covered in soot. The smoke damaged anything that survived the flames. The only room that was not destroyed was the master bedroom, where some of their musical instruments were - because that door was shut. The TVs, computers, furniture, appliances, household items, food, games, etc... destroyed!
The Red Cross arrived and offered them a gift card with $480.00 in cash on it. They needed shelter, food, clothes, etc., and that money really helped for a couple of days while they tried to figure out how to deal with this situation. The Salvation Army donated $2000 worth of furniture. Help from friends, neighbors, and coworkers came pouring in, in the form of baby clothes, toiletries, canned food, blankets - many of the simple things that we use every day.
Over the next couple of weeks, major changes took place that affected the whole family.
Melody stayed with her grandmother and Denise and Art stayed in their RV in front of the house. Insurance coverage was denied because they were delinquent on their payments. They had to figure this out on their own.
Denise gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Bailey Rose, on February 23rd, 2008. After having the baby, the RV was no longer suitable, so Denise and Art had to rent an apartment for now. They had wanted to save this expense to apply toward the house repairs.
They received some help from a local church who cleaned out the house and evaluated the damage. The home is completely gutted now, an empty shell. The contractors bid that the reconstruction and fees would cost over $165,000. That kind of money is just not available through the bank when all you have for collateral is a burnt-out house. So, they took a high-interest Hard Money Loan for $150,000. This will not be enough to complete the work needed for them to move back in.
A team of local San Diego musicians formed a committee to organize a benefit show that is scheduled for May 4th at Brick By Brick. Several sponsors have jumped onboard to help as well: Lambert Catering, Beach City Graphics, Kevin Thomas Music, Seltmann Systems, Kicks Entertainment, Robin Fuller - Massage Therapist, Eddie Jason Coven... Just to name a few.
And the bands that have offered their talents are listed on the benefit website at
www.BenefitForDenise.org . They are all amazing cover bands and have really pulled together to show their support!
So after reading this article, I have a question for you. Can you help? There are many ways to answer "YES" to that question. Attend the show, donate a service, send them your prayers, etc. This community has a lot of heart! I have seen it during the wildfires. No donation is too small. Call 858-384-6444 for details on how you can help!
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