Over the weekend, we could not take our eyes away from the TV set as it recorded the overwhelming human tragedy which comes with the fiery destruction of homes in California.
Fire, especially a conflagration that destroys everything in its path, is unrelenting in its capacity for destruction. You can make a case that fire is similar to the consequences of human dementia. Both are pitiless destroyers as they engulf personal memories of every kind in their fearsome wake.
The human toll will grow in the next few days and thousands of homes are and will be destroyed before the last cinder is snuffed out.
Every lost home is a tragedy. Those of us whose memories have been seared by fire understand the moments of panic and terror of everyone whose life has been scorched by those devastating blazes.
It is impossible to fathom the depth of destruction when entire communities are wiped out through fire as it was with Hawaii in 2023 and now California.
Nearly six years ago, our Park Forest family felt these wrenching spasms of loss when we saw the house occupied by our son Alan and his wife, Beth, on Lakewood Boulevard after it was gutted by an early morning fire. Sparked by an electrical problem, fire swept through the attic, even melting an alarm before it could issue an alert.
On his way to work, former Park Forest police Capt. Devin Strahla noticed rising smoke, investigated and saw their godson Cordaro, who was living with them at the time, screaming for help in the front yard. Strahla called the fire station which was less than 1 mile away. That quick response helped save lives, but almost all else that had a place in the now ravaged building was consumed.
All was gone. All clothing gone. All personal belongings consumed. All precious family heirlooms were eaten by fire. Irreplaceable artwork painted by Beth’s grandmother was turned into ashes. A handwritten autobiography by my father was now in cinders. All gone. All photos, all books, all gone.
And then there were the cats and dogs that were destroyed.
By 6:30 that morning, nothing remained save the shell of a house that was once owned by Mayer Singerman, a former village mayor and later where mother-in-law, Mignon, and husband, Tom McDade, spent their last days.
The Red Cross supplied bare necessities and a card for a motel stay in Tinley Park. Friends and neighbors helped as best they could, but it still took nearly 18 months of relying on others before that house was finally rebuilt.
A final memory.
Still numbed by what just took place less than one hour before, Beth sat alone in a chair in the front yard when a woman, stranger to everyone, walked up to her and placed a wad of $20 bills in her palm, then without a word moved on. Beth later said that despite the losses, she was overwhelmed by the acts of kindness and generosity of friends, family and strangers who reached out to help.
Our tale of turmoil is a flickering candle in the wind compared to the devastating furnace of a firenado which we viewed Sunday. It is told with humility and with the understanding that we were fortunate. That others were not can make us feel another’s pain.
Roadwork
If all goes well by the end of this year, Park Forest’s Forest Boulevard from downtown to Western Avenue will be reconstructed.
That’s good news for drivers who use this wretched thoroughfare and worry that their tires and shocks could not withstand the ruts and ridges of constant travel on a road that looks like it was damaged by mortar fire.
More good news. According to Mayor Joe Woods, the $7 million paid for this project and groundwork for more than 3 miles of water main replacements will be covered by grants from the state, Cook County and set asides by the village.
Jerry Shnay, at jerryshnay@gmail,com, is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
