The home of Thriftway owners Scott and Mary McDonald was nearly destroyed Thursday morning in a fire.
Firefighters were still investigating the cause of the fire Friday evening.
The fire, reported at 11:32 a.m., destroyed the top two floors of the 5,000 square-foot home causing more than $500,000 in damage. The bottom floor of the home sustained water and smoke damage. The family was able to salvage some possessions from that floor Friday.
Fire Chief Mike Beaver said the home was a total loss.
Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District received aid from Lebanon and Brownsville fire departments, including two engines and a truck. Approximately 30 firefighters fought the blaze.
“A fire is like death,” Mark McDonald, son of Scott and Mary McDonald, said. “It literally levels the playing field. It’s a shock not being able to go home.”
Insurance agent Joel Keesecker was on the scene quickly, Mark McDonald said, and he got to work right away, including a hotel room for the night.
Long term, during reconstruction, Mark McDonald did not know where his parents would want to stay.
The loss of irreplaceable items is among the most difficult to deal with.
Mary McDonald said they lost souvenirs from Europe, Hawaii and Disneyworld along with family heirlooms. Scott McDonald’s grandmother’s china cabinet was lost in the fire, but a spinning wheel passed down from Mary McDonald’s grandparents was pulled out last week for repairs.
The family lost about half the photos that were in the home. Mary McDonald had been putting some in photo albums and had about half upstairs in the fire. The other half were salvageable downstairs.
The family cat, Tigger, was traumatized but escaped the fire.
“It’s the first time in my life I’ve only had one pair of shoes,” Mary McDonald said with a sense of humor shining through.
The home was covered by insurance, and plans are underway to rebuild the home as it was.
Kenny Cheek built the home in 1992, Mary McDonald said. Prior to that, the family and workers from Thriftway spent years preparing the property, which was thick with trees and brush.
“Dad wouldn’t do it with a cat,” Mark McDonald said. It had to be done by hand with a chipper pulled up the property by hand.
The McDonalds had visited home shows looking for something they would like to build. Eventually, they talked to an architect who drew up the plans for the home.
As of Friday, they were still trying to locate a copy of the plans so the home could be reconstructed.
Mark McDonald wanted to commend the emergency workers who responded to the fire.
“The fire department did an excellent job,” Mark McDonald said. “They went to work and they saved the bottom floor. Bob Burford (police chief) and the police did a great job. I want to commend them.
“When push comes to shove, those people were there. They did an excellent job.”
A fan and roof were damaged at the home of Marv Volkers at 2:41 p.m. the same day.
Firefighters arrived to find a fire on the roof of the home at 1168 Second Ave. A small fire was burning in the attic.
An electrical short or an overheated fan caused the fire, Chief Beaver said. The overheated attic fan caught the insulation in the roof and attic on fire.
It caused an estimated $500 in damage.
Seven firefighters responded with an engine, medic unit and command vehicle. Lebanon Fire Department assisted.