By Shawn Hogendorf, Correspondent 

In a few short hours, the Eischens family lost just about everything in a fire that destroyed their home in Savage.

The family of five was left numb, tired and in shock as they watched their home of 14 years and all their possessions go up in flames on Oct. 1.

Yet, they are grateful no one was injured.

The Eischens were homeless, unsure what to expect from the future and wondered where to turn for help.The Eischens family.

That’s when a strong family and community, faith and some sound advice lifted the Eischens up when they were down. When they were left in a time of need with nothing but memories, others literally put shoes on their feet, food in their stomachs and a roof over their heads.

“Neither us nor our friends could fathom what happened,” Gretchen Eischens said.

The impact of the fire spread beyond the Eischens family to others in the neighborhood who felt emptiness in losing long-time neighbors.

While time races by for the Eischens, it seems to stand still for neighbors who wonder what will happen with the home, as it still sits vacant and charred, Doug Eischens said. But he expects the home will be demolished sometime in January and the lot should be sold by the end of the month.

The Eischens are currently staying in a rented townhouse in Savage while looking for a new place to call home.

“It’s tough to leave that neighborhood, but it feels like a natural time to move on,” Doug said.

The details of picking up the pieces are still crazy and overwhelming, Gretchen said. “But we are thankful to all who came to our assistance.”

Picking up the pieces

On the day of the fire, Gretchen drove home from work not knowing what to expect. She knew there was a fire at her home and her daughter, Melissa, and dog, Chester, were out safely. But she had no idea of the magnitude of the tragedy.

She remembers driving down the street while treating it like any normal day.

She smiled and waived at neighbors as she passed by, then she noticed the “look of horror” on one neighbor’s face, saw the smoke that filled the sky, fire trucks up and down the street and police cars blocking off the neighborhood.Firefighters responded to a house
fire. (Photo by Shawn Hogendorf)

“When I first saw the home, all I could think was, ‘that is our life,’” she said. “Then I realized Melissa was OK and Chester was out and I knew everything was going to be fine.”

As emergency services left the scene, Gretchen remembers the grief of losing everything setting in as the night grew dark. But just as that grief began to hit home, the Eischens were flooded with hundreds of phone calls from people asking if there was anything they could do to help.

The outpouring of support was unbelievable, Gretchen said. People were constantly dropping off sandwiches, gift cards, cookies, coolers of refreshments, shampoo and conditioner, shoes, underwear, clothes and jackets.

“We didn’t even know most of the people,” she said. “We couldn’t thank a lot of them because they would just drive by and drop stuff off. But to this day, we are still wearing those clothes.”

“We felt like we were held by the communities of Prior Lake and Savage,” Doug added. “It was humbling to feel so much need and have so many people respond in such a big way.”

Doug and Gretchen were taken in by Gretchen’s sister and brother-in-law for almost two weeks; Emily, a sophomore at Prior Lake High School, stayed with a friend so she could remain on the bus route to school; Melissa stayed with another friend; and Bridgette remained at her college home in Duluth.

Sound advice

Along with the support the Eischens received from the community, Doug said some of the most treasured advice came from Savage Fire Chief Joel McColl just minutes after firefighters extinguished the fire.

With a tub of necessities and a plethora of information McColl has gathered over the years from other fire victims, he sat the Eischens family down, counseled them about what to expect in the future and explained the process of healing after a fire.

Gretchen took meticulous notes and described the counseling session with McColl as healing for both her and her family.Firefighters counsel Doug and
Melissa Eischens on the scene of
the fire.

“It is important to sit the family down as soon as possible and explain the process of how firefighters were invited to their home, and what is happening on the scene,” McColl said. “We try to explain why we break windows and cut holes in the house, which is to vent gases and smoke that may be harmful to firefighters.”

During the counseling session, McColl said the family is told about the insurance claim process, the range of emotions they will go through after a fire, the importance of maintaining good health and welfare, using family and friends as a sounding board, how to contact contractors to remove possessions, how to find housing and offers the assistance of the Red Cross.

“Everyone feels fortunate at first to get out alive,” McColl said. “But then it is natural to get angry because their possessions are gone. People also don’t eat or sleep very well after a fire due to the stress involved, and as a result they may get sick.”

Firefighters also discuss the insurance process, because it is not a quick one, McColl said. Firefighters inform the victims that they may not be allowed in their home, if the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Basically, firefighters lay out the future from the first two hours after the fire through the next year, he said.

The family also received a lot of calls from people who were victims of other house fires. Those victims gave Doug advice on what worked and what didn’t as he listened to and treasured every piece of advice.

“The average person is very humble and doesn’t want to accept things, but we talk about accepting help and assistance,” McColl said. “No matter how humble a person is, there are people and organizations that are available to help.”

Moving on

Days after the blaze, a restoration company went into the Eischens’ home in an attempt to salvage some of the family’s belongings. But all that was left were some clothes in Emily’s closet, a few Christmas ornaments, Christmas stockings, a manger set, a faith shield that once hung on the wall of Bridgette’s bedroom and Doug’s acoustic guitar that somehow remained in tune.

Those things are now cherished, Gretchen said.

“Everything we have from that house instantly became a family heirloom,” Doug added.

In the days since the fire, Gretchen said the hardest part is making the new place to feel like home.

The Eischens are grateful for everything, but the reality is they are living in a rented home, sleeping on rented beds and watching television on rented couches.

But it’s the simple things that are frustrating -- such as trying to carve a turkey at Thanksgiving and realizing there is no carving knife, or going to bake cookies and realizing there is no baking soda.

“A lot of time is spent at our new favorite store, Target, to get what we need,” Doug said. “We are there several times a day.”

In an attempt to make life a little cozier, the family bought a Christmas tree in October, put it up and started decorating it with some new and some salvaged ornaments, Gretchen said.

Although that helped get the family through October and November, Christmas seemed to be a bit sabotaged this year as the result of the fire.

“By replacing everything we owned, a present sort of looses the cherish ability,” Gretchen said.

People often say how nice it must be to be able to replace everything that was covered by insurance, Doug said. “But we are at the store everyday. It’s constant,” he said. “People collect favorite things over years and now you have to replace those things quickly, so it is covered by insurance. It goes against our grain to spend so much.”

One of the most cherished of the salvaged belongings was a shield of faith Gretchen found while running her hand over a charred wall in Bridgette’s bedroom just days after the fire. The shield of faith remains in the wood frame as it hung in the old home, smells a bit like fire and the glass is broken out of it, but it was the only thing that was saved from that entire room, Gretchen said.

The meaning of the shield of faith is that it is able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, Doug explained. In Ephesians 6, it is said that the shield cannot be pierced or destroyed by the fiercest fires of hatred or malice.

The fire that took the Eischens' home, couldn’t destroy that shield either, he said.

Doug said the one thing he has taken from the fire is all the hard things people go through every day.

“People opened up to us and filled us with incredible stories of tragedy,” he said. “After that we knew we would be OK. We appreciate the support, but can’t help but think about the people who have lost life in tragic situations.”

  Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at shogendorf@swpub.com.