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Blaze Sparks Neighbor’s Aid

March 5, 2006

By KAREN AYRES / Staff Writer, Dallas Morning News

Mayor Rob Franke peeled the soot-stained cover off his living room sofa Sunday and discovered a gift.

Nestled among the mud and ash were several family photos in perfect condition, pulled aside by the firefighters who had tamed the raging blaze that practically destroyed the Franke home on Friday night.

“They saved a bunch of our pictures,” Mr. Franke said as he turned to Mayor Pro Tem Cory Spillman. “That is wonderful. That is just so wonderful.”

Few other items were spared after a fire of unknown causes started in the garage and quickly consumed most of the Frankes’ one-story home. But the mayor and his wife, Jenaie, say the dozens of people who came out to help them from across the area this weekend mean more than any material items.

“When you get into politics, you’re used to giving and not getting a lot in return because you’re just dealing with problems,” said Mr. Franke, mayor for the past nine years. “For people to come back and help us was pretty amazing.”

By Sunday, thick soot, mud and pieces of the fallen roof covered everything from the kitchen stove to Mr. Franke’s comic book collection.

The fire apparently started shortly after the Frankes and several friends left to celebrate their daughter Farren’s 16th birthday at Humperdink’s restaurant in Arlington.

They had just ordered drinks when a neighbor called to say he had spotted smoke and flames coming out of the house and called 911.

Mr. Franke told his wife to keep the news from his daughter and raced back to the house with Mr. Spillman, who was also at the party.

“There was no question that I was going,” Mr. Spillman said. “He’s like family, and you know their whole world is about to be turned upside down.”

The attic above the garage, filled with treasured Christmas ornaments and yearbooks, had been one of the fire’s first stops. The roof was next.

By the time they got to the house around 8:30 p.m., the flames pouring from it were so intense that the heat had melted the lights and bumpers on nearby cars.

Phone calls had already gone around town. About 50 neighbors, council members, friends and fellow members of the Cedar Hill Church of Christ lined up outside.

City Manager Alan Sims pulled the mayor aside to tell him that two of their dogs, Lacey and Lennie, and their cat, Roxie, hadn’t made it out.

As firefighters from Cedar Hill and DeSoto tried to stop the blaze from consuming the rest of the mayor’s home, council member Wade Emmert conducted a prayer.

“There were just open mouths and dropped jaws,” Mr. Emmert said. “We were in shock.”

The mayor watched the fire burn for an hour and decided to drive back to his daughter’s party. His only daughter would never have another 16th birthday; he would have another house.

Before Mr. Franke left, Ken Lybrand, an elder at his church, prayed with him privately.

“I prayed that God would give Rob the strength to get through the situation and the wisdom to deal with it,” Mr. Lybrand said.

The fire was out by the time the Frankes returned home at 10:30 p.m. with teenagers in tow.

They soon got a look at what was left: Two bedrooms had water damage. The remainder of the house – living room, game room, kitchen, Mr. Franke’s office and a third bedroom – was pretty much destroyed.

But they were not.

“It’s pretty sad,” Mr. Franke said, “but it’s just stuff. Life will go on.”

One family quickly took them in for the night. Within hours, the Frankes had toothpaste, deodorant, underwear and other necessities.

Fire investigators spent the night combing the garage for clues. Mr. Franke said electrical causes and arson have been ruled out. Mr. and Mrs. Franke don’t smoke, but it’s possible that someone else’s cigarette sparked the fire.

Another crowd started to gather at the house around 6:45 a.m. Saturday. Nearly 60 city employees, council members, neighbors and friends divided into groups. Many worked until 9 p.m.

Some people washed clothes that could be pulled from closets; others tried to salvage melted photos. Several people helped haul furniture to the back yard. After a friend offered to let the family stay in a nearby vacant house, others gathered beds and furniture.

“[The mayor] is always the first one there when other people are experiencing tragedies, and people felt compelled to be there when he was going through a tragedy,” Mr. Emmert said.

On Sunday morning, the family went to church as they always do. They were again the focus of a prayer by Mr. Lybrand.

“Rob and I looked at each other and cried,” Mrs. Franke said. “It wasn’t because of the fire. It was because of the people.”

Mr. Lybrand said he told the congregation that the Frankes’ love for God would continue to carry them through the tragedy.

“Too often we spend too much time asking ‘Why?’ instead of taking the time to deal with it and move on with life,” Mr. Lybrand said. “That’s what Rob and Jenaie are doing now. They’re dealing with it.”

The church is now organizing a committee to help the Frankes.

The family expects an insurance adjustor today, but they already know their plans: They want to rebuild in town, preferably on the same spot.

“I will stay in Cedar Hill,” Mr. Franke said, “no doubt in my mind.”

E-mail kayres@dallasnews.com

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