THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 29, 1995 TAG: 9509280156
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
The house in Kings Grant was a cozy place for John and Donna Sansone to raise their children until a fire Sept. 13 destroyed their kitchen and fouled their belongings with soot.
But it was not until friends and people they didn't know came forward to help that they realized their neighborhood was something more than a place to live, and their house something more than a possession.
After the smoke cleared, the Sansones found themselves with offers of clothing, food, money and most importantly, moral support, while they sifted through their charred house.
``It's really incredible, just unbelievable that all these people came through for us,'' said John Sansone, a payroll manager for Tarmac America. ``We keep thinking of ways that we can pay them back.''
The moral support helped because not only did they lose many cherished possessions, including a clock they received on their wedding day 15 years ago, but they lost two parakeets, a hamster, two gerbils and several fish.
The family's two dogs, which were inside when the fire started shortly after 9 a.m., were saved by a fast-acting neighbor, Penny Evans, who first noticed the smoke. She dialed 911 and then ran across the street, kicked in the back door, and freed the frightened dogs.
She called into the smoking house to make sure the children were not inside. They were not. John, 13, was at Lynnhaven Middle School; Jessica, 8, was at Kings Grant Elementary.
``When I kicked that door in, there was a huge blast of smoke,'' Evans said. ``I couldn't see into the house. After that, the firemen came and did their job.''
Fire investigators told the couple the blaze at 3381 Kings Neck Drive started in the kitchen and quickly spread, breaching an outside wall and singeing the roof. Soot and the smell of smoke permeates everything in the house, from clothing and furniture, to bed linens and draperies. The couple has insurance so everything is covered.
While the inconvenience of the fire was bad enough, the couple suddenly found themselves with no place to house the children or cook their meals. So they moved in temporarily with Donna Sansone's mother in Norfolk.
That's when Kings Grant neighbors stepped in with goodwill offers.
The manager of a local Domino's Pizza outlet dropped off food, while the employees of a local WalMart took up a collection.
``Everyone seemed genuinely concerned,'' said Donna Sansone, an office manager for a financial planner. ``The neighbors have collected close to $600. They've offered pillows, blankets, sheets, toaster, dishes, flatware. We had people hand us $20 bills and say, `Don't say no. Just take it. You'll need it,' '' she said.
``It's nice to know that we live in a neighborhood like this,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MORT FRYMAN
ABOVE: Donna and John Sansone stand amid the damaged goods in the
back yard of their burned-out house on Kings Neck Drive. Soot and
the smell of smoke permeated everything in the house.
RIGHT: Penny Evans, a neighbor, first noticed the smoke, dialed 911
and then ran across the street, kicked in the back door, and freed
two frightened dogs.
KEYWORDS: FIRE by CNB