Libby woman trying to think positive after devastating fire
<p>The Winnebago, which contained all of Richardson’s belongings, reduced to a pile of ash. On the bottom right, burned clothes are strewn across the ground.</p>
Aftermath of devastating fire.
<p>A toaster and space heater, which used to sit on top of the counter, now lie on the ash.</p>
<p>A plastic bird house, 15 feet away from the mobile home, melted from the intensity of flames.</p>
<p>Rose Richardson’s mandolin, which she inherited from her grandfather.</p>
When Rose Richardson lost almost everything to her name, she decided to move forward and continue living life, but she has reason to be optimistic — the kindness of others.
On Nov. 4, during her shift as a bartender, Richardson, 33, received horrific news when her next-door neighbor called.
Flames were coming out of the Winnebago her and her boyfriend were staying in while they were remodeling their house.
Richardson rushed home as soon as she could, but at that time, she was more concerned about her boyfriend, who woke up just in time to see the flames from their bathroom.
In what Richardson suspects was an electrical fire, almost all of their belongings — clothes, food, plates, small appliances, an Xbox, fishing and hunting gear, their bed and bedsheets — perished in a matter of an hour.
“It went up really fast, like a box of matches,” Richardson said.
With everything turned to ash, the 1970s Winnebago reduced to the metal frame, Richardson and her boyfriend were left with clothes on their backs, their wallets and an empty house with no electricity or running water.
“I was less than excited, I’ll put it that way,” she said.
In the next coming days, something happened that Richardson didn’t expect — spreading by word of mouth alone, Richardson’s dilemma inspired many people to donate anything they could to help.
They’ve received a couch, a bed, three televisions, electrical equipment to replace what was damaged, chairs, plates, clothing, jackets and enough money to go out and buy new clothes.
“Lot’s of people have donated all sorts of things,” Richardson said. “The outreach has been insane.”
The American Red Cross set her up in a hotel room for five days, and now she’s staying at a nearby hotel with her three dogs.
She knows that she’ll never get some of her items back, which included photographs and inherited mementos from her grandparents.
She decided to stay proactive and focus on the bright side, joking that the fire will be a chapter in the book she’ll write. She’s also grateful for the fact that her dogs and her boyfriend made it out safely, that some of her tackle and tools survived and that, luckily, she happened to have both her and her boyfriend’s wallets with her at the time.
“Am I going to get depressed and pout...or am I going to move forward and continue living life?” Richardson said. “Because that’s what needs to happen.”