Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 1, 1993 TAG: 9301010032
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: ROBERT MATTHEWS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
CLINGING TO ALL THEY HAVE LEFT
FRIENDS CAME to the rescue when William and Lavonne Dooley's home burned Dec. 6, donating money, clothes and food. But the Dooleys declined offers of housing, preferring to live in their basement. Now the bank is threatening to foreclose.
Two long, white extension cords run from the gray fuse box in what's left of William and Lavonne Dooley's kitchen.
One goes to the refrigerator. The other trails across the kitchen floor, through the dining room and down into the basement. The cord powers a small television and a lamp.
It's the only electricity left in the house after an electrical fire that started in the attic gutted most of the Dooleys' Floyd County home earlier this month.
The basement is the only room in the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house that wasn't damaged. And that's where the Dooleys - along with their two kids - have moved.
Family and friends offered their homes, but the Dooleys declined. They are not an overly proud bunch, they say, but they don't want to have to depend on others to take care of them.
So the day after the fire, they began the cleanup. Nearly a month later, they still have a lot to do.
"You should have seen this place before," Lavonne Dooley said, pointing to her white kitchen counters. "I mean, everything was either charred or soaked or both. The hole in the ceiling is big enough for an elephant to walk in. Lavonne Dooley Describing her house's condition after the fire but before her family worked on it hole in the ceiling is big enough for an elephant to walk in."
She said she is thankful the past few days have been warm. The ice storm several days ago made life nearly unbearable because of the cold air rushing in from the ceiling.
A family of four sharing a tiny basement is nerve-wracking even at its best, she said.
William and Lavonne Dooley share the bottom half of a bunk bed, while the kids - Shawn and Kyle - share a mattress on the tiled floor. A few feet away, there's a wood-burning stove - the only source of heat. And in the middle of the room, the television sits on a clump of small tables that doubles as a dining room.
An artificial Christmas tree with homemade ornaments stands in the corner by the stairs.
Lavonne Dooley said she longs for just one private moment and longs for the days when she could tell her children, ages 8 and 2, to go to their rooms when they became too rambunctious.
Whenever anyone has to venture upstairs, he or she must bundle up first - coat, gloves and hat. It's not often, because it gets so cold they can see their breath, William Dooley said.
The upstairs bathroom is usable - the hot water still works - but they have to take candles in so they can see. And often, the water in the toilet bowl is frozen solid.
The Fire Department warned that it was not safe to stay there. A few inches of snow could make the roof collapse.
"It's frustrating. Very, very frustrating, " said Lavonne Dooley, who still has trouble holding back the tears. "But it could have been much worse. I'm so glad they [her family] were awake" when the fire hit.
She was working at the Stop-In convenience store in Rocky Mount on Dec. 6 - the Sunday evening of the fire. Her husband and the children were watching television in the family room when they heard a pop in the bedroom. He went to investigate and noticed that the ceiling light he had left on was off. The alarm clock also was off.
Then he noticed a red hue on the wall bordering the attic.
"I instantly knew then it was fire. I told my son to call 911 and then I grabbed the garden hose," he said.
He thought he had put out what was a small attic fire. But then he saw the back end of the house was lit up. Unable to fight it with the garden hose, he went outside and waited for the fire engines to arrive.
Now a bedsheet hangs in the hallway, covering the most damaged part of the house - the family room, a bathroom and the two bedrooms.
Walls are scorched and ragged pieces of pink insulation dangle from the attic. Thin rays of sunlight filter through the roof and into the rooms, which still smell of smoke. Big black chunks from the roof pepper the floor.
"I bawled when I first saw it," Lavonne Dooley said.
But the big shock came a few days later, when the Dooleys found out their fire insurance had lapsed the previous week. They said they never got a cancellation notice.
Their bank has informed them that it will foreclose on the house and that they must leave by February.
"I took two days to cry and get it all out of my system," Lavonne said.
Now, she said, she and her husband have gotten over the shock and are fighting to save their house. They said they purchased the house five years ago for $68,000 and have paid off almost $30,000.
But they seemed resigned they won't win against their bank. Boxes of packed clothing and things not destroyed in the fire have been set aside in preparation of moving.
"We can start over," Lavonne Dooley said. "We're still young."
The Dooleys welcome donations. Money, food or clothes can be dropped off at the Stop-In convenience store at 404 Elm Ave. S.E., Roanoke 24013.