"It Happened to Me"

Lorenzo and Marion Roberts, of Arizona, lost all but two bedrooms after a fire in a fireplace re-ignited while the couple was away.

The Fire

Lorenzo: "It was a chilly morning, so I lit the fireplace. On the couch I had a bunch of paper. We were getting ready to go overseas to England, so I was checking my passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate. I was going through the papers. A friend of mine rang the doorbell and invited us to go to breakfast.

"I had a fire extinguisher that I always keep right by the couch. I used it to extinguish the fire and went to wake my wife up. I went back and checked the fireplace and sprayed a little more.

"When we were leaving, I slammed the fireplace door. It must not have closed. While we were at the diner, I got a phone call. A friend told me to hurry home because he saw smoke coming from my roof.

"We lost everything but two bedrooms and clothing."

On Losing Possessions

Marion: "We lost jewelry, mementos — things you can never replace. A one-and-only picture we had of our daughter who died three years ago. That's what hurts... the loss. Other things I can replace or at least there is something to compensate.

"Everything burned up. Without a bank book, we couldn't even get money out of the bank. We had no ID, so it was like not having the money because we couldn't get to it."

On Fire Safety

Lorenzo: "I was always conscious of fire safety. We had the alarms, the smoke detectors. We used fire retardant SheetRock® when we built the home.

"When our granddaughter was staying with us, we had fire drills. How to exit just in case. We talked about how to get out, and we practiced how to unlock a window in case of an emergency.

"Since the fire, we now have four fire extinguishers in the house.

"And we don't use the fireplace. We did everything we knew to do. We still had a fire. It was God's will, and so therefore we just don't use the fireplace. We can live without it."

Advice to Others

Marion: "After a fire, you become more aware of other fire hazards. If you have an older house and it's not wired up to the standards, have the electric checked. If it needs rewiring, don't take the chances of leaving it there. We have a lot of people we've helped through the years who have had electrical fires.

"Do everything you know how to do to be safe. If you're not sure, ask somebody who knows about fire safety for the home. Take precautions of all kinds. Don't take any chances. You cannot be too composed and say, 'This will not happen to me.'"