By Barbara Scott
Staff Writer
The miscommunication regarding the May 1, house fire at 21 Johnson Road in New Sweden, led to a statement in the last issue of the Aroostook Republican that several children, playing outside at the residence, were home alone.
The correct information is that Greg Easter and his three young daughters were all away from home when the fire started.
Upon returning home, the children went to the backyard to swing while he brought grocery items into the house from his vehicle. The fire was discovered by Greg at that time. Maria Easter, wife of Greg and the mother of the three children was not at home.
The previous article also implied that unattended smoking materials were suspect in the cause of the fire but according to the property owners, an investigator with their insurance company told them a faulty recessed light fixture in the upstairs ceiling was being considered as the source. Greg Easter commented that as his wife does not smoke in her vehicle when the children are present, neither does she smoke in their home.
“We (Easter and daughters) left the house at 10:15 a.m. and returned at 1 p.m.,” said Easter. “I was bringing in groceries from the vehicle and I heard a cracking sound — it sounded like sticks breaking — at first I thought it was the kids playing with something outside, then realized that it was coming from inside (upstairs) in house.”
“I immediately called 9-1-1, then my Dad (who lives close by) and then I called Maria (proprietor of Mari Jo’s Restaurant),” Easter said. “My dad was there instantly and he grabbed the fire extinguisher. I had the hose and we were just doing what we could to try and stop the fire. The heat and the smoke was pretty bad but with the help of everyone (my sister and dad along with Maria’s parents) we just tried to grab all the personal items we could and trying to get them out of the house,” he added, “it was soon after that the first Caribou firefighters arrived.”
Regarding the Easter’s three young daughters, Arianna, 6, Jolena, 4, and Shelby, 2; Easter had told the Arianna, to take her sisters and keep them off to the side of the yard, away from the house. The girls’ grandmother arrived within seconds of receiving the call and took her grandchildren away from the residence.
“Arianna did a great job,” stated her parents, “she has learned all about fire safety at school including about having a meeting place for family members, so she understood the importance of staying in one place. She is constantly reminding us about one thing or another,” they added, and even though it was only seconds before their grandmother got there, she managed to keep the two younger ones right with her.” The Caribou Fire Department works closely with area schools promoting fire safety through the Lean Not to Burn program.
“The firefighters did what they were supposed to do,” said Easter, “we are very grateful to them — we still have our house — and nobody was hurt.”
The Easters lost clothing, beds, mattresses, dressers in the fire, as well as many personal belongings. “The girls lost the majority of their clothes,” said Maria Easter, “their DVD player /movies and Barbie dolls along with other playthings.”
“We just want to say thank you to the Caribou Fire Department and to everyone who have given us money, clothing and offers of help,” said the Easters, “the communities have definitely been there for us. We’re pretty lucky — we do have a place to stay (with family members), we didn’t lose everything — we’re all safe and the house can be rebuilt.”
Anyone wishing to provide clothing or assistance to the Easter family may do so by contacting Mari Jo’s Restaurant at 493-1555. Clothing sizes for the three children are: Arianna, 5-6 girls; Jolena, 4T-5T; and Shelby 3T-4T.
