After a summer of what some are referring to as the most restrictive fishing the Kuskokwim has ever seen, many freezers are finally full for the winter. That was the case for the Prince family in Bethel until they woke up to find it all lost in a fire. KYUK talked with the family at their home just hours after the firefighters left.
Transcript:
JoeJoe: “I got a knock on the door at about 7:00 this morning, and it was a neighbor from across the road saying, 'You’ve got a big problem out there'. So I looked out the door; the shed was on fire. So I came back in, woke everyone up, and called 911.”
That’s JoeJoe Prince talking about a fire that happened on July 18. His mother, Modesta, remembers what it was like getting up.
Modesta: “I just got dressed, and he kept telling us to hurry up and get out. And I had to worry about my false tooth, wondering, ‘Where'd I put it?!’ When you’re in panic mode, things happen. Funny things happen. I was worried about my looks. But everything is okay, and everybody is fine, and everything will be replaced.”
KYUK: “Did you find your tooth?”
Modesta: “Yeah, I did in my room. Crazy.”
KYUK: “What was in the shed?”
Modesta: “All my frozen berries and all our good fish. We put up our fish and we had so many. But most of the stuff was junk, I know, except for the freezers. Even though we had a late start, we did good. We had lots of fish in there plus my frozen kings. Everything is replaceable.”
JoeJoe: “Everybody got up, everybody got out, and everything will be fine.”
Modesta: “Yeah, we’ll be okay. Everybody will take care of us. Our children, we have six. Four girls and two boys. We’ll be okay. We always make it.”
The house wasn’t touched, but the shed is now a skeleton, beams charred and teetering.
Police officers and six firefighters responded to JoeJoe’s call. Fire Chief Bill Howell says that the flames look like they started around the freezer, and that no foul play is suspected.
He gave some tips on how to take care of freezers and prevent fires from starting. He says that the cooling coils should be cleaned annually, and that there should be a few inches between the coils and the wall so that air can circulate. Also, freezers should be plugged into wall sockets and not extension cords. He says that extension cords are for temporary use, not long-term or permanent use.
Before KYUK left, JoeJoe said he wanted to add one more thing.
JoeJoe: “I’d like to say thank you to the Fire Department here in Bethel, the Volunteer Fire Department, and the City of Bethel Police Department for their quick and fast response to the call this morning.”
