Early morning fire claims

New Ulm home

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A family of four lost its home to a fire early Thursday morning.

Theresa Block and her three children were awakened by a fire that started in the kitchen of their home at 16 N. State St. around 4:09 a.m.

"We couldn't get downstairs," she said of the blaze. "So we got off the roof."

But before the family made its escape, Block tried to call 911. When she got through, the dispatcher informed her that an emergency call had already been received just before the phone went dead. A neighbor living in an apartment down the street had heard the family's screams and called 911.

Two of Block's children escaped the fire by jumping down off the roof. The remaining family members, including two dogs, were rescued by a ladder truck. Firefighters were able to find two other cats and another dog. Four cats, two lizards and a hamster died in the fire.

Block said she moved to the house five and a half years and had spent just as much time restoring it to its original 1924 appearance using natural oak woodwork, leaded piano glass and stained glass and several antiques. She said the work, which she did as a hobby, was almost finished.

"We lost some treasures," she said."But we're all OK."

The five companies that comprise the New Ulm Fire Department spent two and a half hours fighting the blaze. New Ulm Fire Chief Curt Curry said the fire started near the kitchen stove and spread into the adjoining dining room. He said the fire was an accident.

"The actual fire started in the kitchen and the dining room, but there was severe heat and smoke damage through the whole house," Curry said.

Firefighters stopped the blaze in the dining room, where they ultimately extinguished it. Curry said the total value of the loss, including the contents of the house and the damage, could be about $140-150,000.

"It was just a very hot, intense fire," he said. "They were lucky they woke up when they did. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a pretty picture."

Block said she plans to stay with friends in New Ulm until she can find another place to live.