By LUCAS BLAISE
KEESEVILLE — Brenda Ero cooked into the early hours of Thanksgiving morning, preparing a special feast for the family, and then went to sleep.
But she was jolted awake at 3:30 a.m. by the hysterical screaming of long-time family friend Alberta Baker, who is a boarder with Brenda and her husband, Paul Ero.
“When I came out, the fire was all over the front of house. Smoke was everywhere,” said Mrs. Ero. “All you could see was the Christmas tree fully on fire.”
The tree, which was decorated just after Halloween, was lighting up the whole house with flames, which quickly spread to the curtains and walls.
In just hours, the house at 36 Scott Lane was gone.
“My parents lived there all their lives, and we had so many of their things,” Mrs. Ero said. “It’s just so devastating because it was theirs. I had a lot of family stuff.
“We lost everything you can imagine. There’s not a single thing that we didn’t lose.”
That even included Christmas gifts for their eight grandchildren.
As the fire raged, they were thinking survival, not sentiment.
“It was cold. My husband didn’t have anything on but pajama bottoms,” Mrs. Ero said. “When you’re in that situation, you’re not thinking. We just had to get out.”
She and Baker ran in their bare feet to a neighbors’ house to call 911. Then, they stood outside waiting for firefighters.
Mr. Ero, also with bare feet, ran back into the house to try to save their 1-year-old puppy.
“There was an explosion. Something blew up and blew (Paul) across the room,” said Mrs. Ero. “He had to bust out a window to get out.”
The dog, two birds and fish didn’t make it, although the family cat survived.
The Eros’ son arrived and broke the garage door open so that they could get in out of the cold.
“We were off the ground, but the garage has a cement floor,” Mrs. Ero said.
Culminating their Thanksgiving disaster, Mr. Ero was taken to CVPH Medical Center, where he was admitted with smoke inhalation and a collapsed lung.
“He hasn’t even seen the house yet,” Mrs. Ero said. “He knows it’s gone, from what the family has told him, but he doesn’t know the extent.”
Mr. Ero was released from the hospital Tuesday.
They believe the fire may have started with the Christmas tree lights.
Mrs. Ero is still reeling from the holiday disaster as she stays with family.
Bouncing back isn’t going to be as easy as it used to be, she said.
“(We’re) not young enough to start over, but I know that we have to.”
Paul and Brenda Eros and Alberta Baker have received some assistance from the North Country Chapter of the American Red Cross, their neighbors and family but still need everything except clothing.
Brenda and Paul Ero can be reached at either 572-4077 or 834-5212.
