Alexander family thankful to be alive for Christmas 2009 after house burns

By Lana Clifton

Late at night on Tuesday, Dec. 22, the Alexander Fire Department responded to a call at 16397 Redwood Lane in the Woodland Hills area of Alexander. They requested assistance from area fire departments including Bryant.

Captain Tim Blankenship of the AFD could not provide much information but said the area departments came through.[more]

“Several other agencies were out there with us trying to put out the fire,” said Blankenship.

According to a statement by the Bryant Fire Department, the fire was so heavy at one point that those working on the interior were ordered out briefly.

The home was being rented by Shannon Sellars, a Holiday Inn Express employee, and her husband and children. According to Sellars, the home is a total loss.

Sellars and her family are currently staying in a room at the hotel where she is employed. She said the Red Cross had stepped in to help with needs such as food, clothing, shoes, medication and an allowance to pay for some nights in the hotel. She said her boss was also adding a few nights.

Donations are being accepted at the front desk of the hotel to assist the family. Sellars said monetary donations would be saved to help them find a place to live and to buy furniture and the basics they lost. They had no renter’s insurance. Sellars said they would make sure to invest in the insurance in their next rental.

Any Christmas presents they had already bought were also lost. Sellars said her two sons, ages 10 and 6, were taken shopping by a member of the Alexander Police Department to pick out a toy apiece for Christmas, and she was given some money to replace her 4-year-old daughter’s gifts.

Sellars credits the family pet, a pit bull named Dozer, for saving the family. According to Sellars, the dog began barking in the night and awakened them. When her husband went to check to see why he was barking, he found the entertainment center and a wall in the living room on fire.

Sellars said they were able to get themselves and the kids out of the house, but were unable to get anything else. Another dog, a chihuahua, is still missing, and she fears it might have been killed in the fire.

“I consider my dog the hero,” said Sellars. “I think if he had not woken us up, we wouldn’t have made it.” She added that she believed God also had a hand in saving them by making the dog respond to the fire by barking.

Donations may be taken to the Holiday Inn Express at 2915 Main Street in Bryant.