Outpouring of support for house fire victims

Community donates food, clothes for Banales family

Lee Giles III

of the Gateway

With the unmistakable acrid smell of ashes filling the air — even from a distance — Dan Banales toured his family’s devastated Gig Harbor home on Monday.

When he looked up, the roof was gone. Rain water poured in, drenching everything that wasn’t already hit by fire hoses last week.

Inside, the devastation was complete. All of the furnishings from the living room had been removed since last Wednesday’s fire tore through the two-story home in the 7800 block of Beardsley Avenue.

But Banales, his wife Denise and their daughter Tesa are survivors. They weren’t home during the blaze blamed on a fish smoker that may have been tipped on its side by an animal in the family’s garage.

And since then, the family has received a lot of community support.

“The outpouring has been incredible,” Denise Banales said.

Dan, the general manager at the Olive Garden restaurant in Silverdale, said his bosses have been bringing meals for his family, raising donations and giving him time off work. Denise, a registered nurse at Harrison Memorial Hospital in Bremerton, received $900 from her co-workers.

Others have given gift cards, clothes, food and a number of additional items. Even neighbors who live just down the street but didn’t know the family pitched in.

“Times are hard, but people are still willing to help,” Denise said.

It may not have seemed that way last week.

Just after 9 a.m. on Wednesday, a neighbor called 9-1-1 to report smoke coming from the garage. First responders found the home fully engulfed with flames shooting 30 feet into the air, blanketing the neighborhood near Gig Harbor High School in thick smoke.

Five fire engine companies, two medic units with a total of 28 firefighters and paramedics responded. Two firefighters from Key Peninsula Fire District 16 were part of the response.

Firefighters rushed to pull some of the family’s most precious belongings from the home, including framed pictures and photo albums. The fire was contained at 9:45 a.m., and the Banales’ cat, Tava, was successfully rescued in an undamaged section of the home.

Severe damage was done. Pierce County Fire Marshal Bob Skaggs estimated a $250,000 loss to the structure and $125,000 to the home’s belongings.

When Dan walked through the home Monday, the kitchen pantry was full of canned food, but fire officials warned they are inedible because of poisons discharged in the fire. The Banales’ two adult sons, 23 and 26, each kept rooms for when they visit their family, but the rooms were destroyed.

Tesa, 12, lost most of her personal possessions. Her room was devastated in almost every corner, including the ceiling.

Dan’s garage-based shop was nothing more than burned metal. One tool was reduced to a puddle of melted aluminum.

The family’s master bedroom looked like a hurricane had torn through it.

But even before the smoke cleared, neighbors Angela and Greg Schellenberg opened their home to the family. A neighbor a few doors down sprung for three nights at a local hotel on the day of the fire. Tesa received countless donations of clothes and stuffed animals from her friends and their families.

The Schellenbergs helped set up www.gigharborfire.com — a Web site built with donated time by Gig Harbor’s Beyond the Desk — to provide a list of things the family needs. The site had more than 500 hits on Monday, with people from 23 different states visiting.

The Schellenbergs also helped set up an account at Bank of America called “Gig Harbor Fire Fund,” with the hope of helping families in similar situations in the future.

“The community is incredible,” Dan Banales said.

The Banales family’s insurance company, Mutual of Enumclaw, is working to get them back into their home, which was originally built in 1997. Denise said they hope to raze the mostly destroyed structure, and the original contractor has offered to rebuild it — with a few minor tweaks.

In the mean time, the family will stay in a Gig Harbor condo covered by the insurance company.

“Huge, huge thank yous to everybody,” Denise Banales said. “We want to send everyone thank yous.”

Family accepting donations

The Banales family, who lost their two-story Gig Harbor home to a fire last week, is accepting donations through a Web site and a bank account.

To help, visit www.gigharborfire.com or donate to “Gig Harbor Fire Fund” at Bank of America, a fund that will stay open for families facing a similar situation in the future.

Reach staff photographer Lee Giles III at 253-853-9242 or by e-mail at lee.giles@gateline.com.