Well I was going to do a blog this evening about my trip to Andersons in Maumee (which is by my new house) and how it feels weird not to go to the one by Woodville Mall....but then I was reading the Blade to find out a very close friend of mine had something very bad happen to her family....her sister who I know and also care for suffered a total lost to a house fire in Perrysburg....you have to understand here we go again with GOOD PEOPLE suffering and I just can't seem to understand why....I am going to post the article and will keep everyone posted....as soon as I hear about a place to send donations I will write another blog....if you can please do what you can....and if not for this family maybe the next....for there will always be a next it seems....and pray for this family and others like them as they go through such a hard time....again Thank You for letting me share this with you all....and everyone take care and be a little extra grateful tonight for what you have!! And to these neighbors who warned them....THANK YOU FOR SAVING A WONDERFUL FAMILY!! xoxoxo
Article published Thursday, February 21, 2008
Neighbors rouse sleeping family in burning home
Couple's efforts saved lives in Perrysburg
..>
..>
Tracy Ulrich, center left, hugs Jamie Irwin while Scott Shepard, left, and Xavier Cardenas examine what's left of the ranch-style house. Mr. Cardenas and Ms. Irwin alerted the residents to the blaze and are credited with saving their lives.
( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT )
|
..>..>
By MIKE SIGOV
BLADE STAFF WRITER
People living in a house in Perrysburg damaged extensively by fire Tuesday night credit their neighbors with saving their lives.
Tracy Ulrich, 42; her boyfriend, Scott Shepard, 39; and Ms. Ulrich's children, Anthony Rorigi, 13, and Nichole Rorigi, 14, were asleep in the single-story, ranch-style house at 1228 Whiteside Drive about 11:40 p.m. They were awakened by their neighbor kicking their front door.
"We would not be alive without this young man and his girlfriend. They saved our lives," Ms. Ulrich said.
Xavier Cardenas of 1229 Whiteside Drive said his girlfriend, Jamie Irwin of Perrysburg Township, was leaving his house when she saw the flames across the street. "She started yelling my name and yelling, 'The house [across the street] is on fire,'" Mr. Cardenas said.
Mr. Cardenas ran to the house and began pounding on the door. While he was trying to awaken the residents, Ms. Irwin called 911, he said.
No one responded, "so I started kicking the door, and finally the whole family came to the door, asking what's wrong," he said. "I told them the house was on fire. They were all pretty much still asleep."
As they fled, their dog Brutus ran out with them but then ran back inside, Mr. Cardenas said.
Fire crews found the house's attached garage engulfed in flames when they arrived. A short time later, they found Brutus in the house. The dog was visibly upset but otherwise unharmed, they said.
Damage was estimated at about $100,000. It included damage to the house, and the total loss of the garage, a sport utility vehicle, and a motorcycle, Ms. Ulrich said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, firefighters said.
The family is staying with relatives in Oregon. They are using clothing and other items donated by people in their neighborhood, Ms. Ulrich said.
"This young man and his girlfriend really saved our lives," Ms. Ulrich said. "We would have never known. There was no smoke in the house and, by that time, the garage was up in flames."