The State Chancellery of the Fire Marshal is assisting in the investigation of a fire in which a family of 11 was forced to leave their home on Friday afternoon, 9 February.
Pat and Jody Haag, along with their nine children aged 6 to 21, are currently accommodated in the district center hotel. On Monday morning, Jody Haag told reporters that while the investigation is ongoing, she wants to meet with representatives of her insurance company, and only then can the family decide: should she return?
Jody reveals that the fire that forced the family to leave their home was the third unexplained spontaneous combustion in 24 hours.
She and her husband successfully put out the first two fires. Once a box in the dining room caught fire by itself, the second time a fire appeared from nowhere in the hallway. At that moment, all the children were in front of their eyes, there was no one in the places of fire. Jody's husband also scrupulously checked the wiring, but there were no wires at all in the places of fire. Jody has no idea what could have caused this fire.
The third fire took place in a closet in the bedroom. Among the electrical appliances nearby there was a washing machine and a dryer in the next room, but even they had not been used for a long time. The children were the first to see the fire and the parents ran into the bedroom with a bucket of water and a fire extinguisher, but this time the fire got out of control and the family had to leave the house urgently.
Fire chief Huck Tinlenberg confirmed to reporters that when they arrived at the fire, the house was full of smoke and flames. Having coped with the fire, they were surprised to find that the electrical appliances near the fire were, as the residents claimed, turned off. Now Herr Tinlenberg is tormenting the cause of the fire.
Jody and Pat lost mostly only all their clothes, which were in the closet where the fire started. Elsewhere in the home, damage is limited to exposure to smoke and the use of fire foam. Nevertheless, the family is very afraid to return home until the investigation of the incident is completed.
What's more, Jody is significantly surprised: before the start of the fires, all of her cats escaped from the house and she hopes that the neighbors will be able to find at least some of them.
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