Help Joni get back on her feet
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Our dear friend Joni Jensen was a victim of a devastating fire on November 14th. She lost everything including one of her dear cats, Winston.
R.I.P. Winston We know you are on the Rainbow Bridge.
The fire was started by the homeowner's daughter carelessly flicking lit cigarettes out the window. The fire started right outside of Joni's apartment and destroyed everything.
Joni needs our help to get a fresh start, beginning with a place to live with her four surviving cats, Julian, Anya, Ronnie and Ian Alexander. She's uninsured with no savings.
So far over $3,000 out of the money raised so far has been used to pay for temporary housing. Joni will need an additional $2,000 to rent an apartment for one month (1st month rent + security) and moving expenses.
She also needs everything for the household:
Furniture
Cutlery
Pots & Pans
Dishes & Glasses
Towels
Sheets
Comforter
Pillows
Etc....
Also clothing and shoes, toiletries, makeup and other personal needs. Telephone credit would also be appreciated.
You can message me if you would like further information about sizes, mailing address, etc.
Together we can help.
Thank you.
Here is the article from the 11/21/2013 Hull Times (link doesn't work properly) . Note that the article states that all of the cats were saved. Winston perished in the fire. Also, The Red Cross is NOT helping her find an apartment.
Hull Times 11/21/2013, Page 1
5 people, 5 cats displaced by A Street blaze
By Allan Stein
Hull Fire officials said the careless disposal of a cigarette set ablaze one of Hull's most whimsically adorned homesteads at 52 A St., displacing five residents and as many cats.
Firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire that was reported at 11:15 p.m. Nov. 14, after the blaze had traveled up through the backyard walls of the two-story single-family house and forced the tenants to leave.
Fire Chief Robert Hollingshead said it appears someone had tossed a lit cigarette onto the backyard mulch, which smoldered and then caught fire.
"The smoldering cigarette was able to ignite mulch and extend under the siding to go undetected for several hours," Hull Fire Capt. Kevin Breen said in the official incident report.
Investigators later found several extinguished cigarette butts that also had been discarded in the mulch.
Fire victims stated they had noticed an odor of smoke around 7 p.m., although the fire call arrived at the department four hours later, Breen said.
A rescue crew at the scene reported "heavy fire in the walls and ceiling in the bathroom and kitchen area," he said.
Firefighters knocked down the burning walls and had the fire under control in about a half hour, Hollingshead said. He said efforts to extinguish the blaze were
Continued on page 5
Fire Chief Robert Hollingshead in the backyard at 52 A Street. [Photo use courtesy of the Hull Fire Dept.]
A Street fire
Continued from page 1
because of the antiquated "balloon-frame construction" of the house and the resulting lack of fire steps in stud chases, which serve as fire barriers between floors.
"The fire traveled extremely fast throughout the structure because of the construction," Hollingshead said.
Homeowner Leo Barden and four other occupants evacuated the burning house. Three went to area hospitals with minor injuries.
A basement apartment tenant's five cats that lived in her unit were unaccounted for at first.
"We were a little concerned the night of the fire but all five cats turned up the following day," the chief said.
Barden has been renting out vacant rooms for rent this year. "We presume there were boarders there," the fire chief said.
Barden could not be reached for comment.
Fire officials said the pre-1950s house is uninhabitable. All that remains of the well-known local landmark are dozens of handcrafted wood and ceramic lawn ornaments crowded into the front and back yard areas.
Hollingshead said Barden was known for his craftsmanship, creating pinwheels, Walt Disney characters, birdhouses, flowerpots, scale-model houses, and various animal figures, including a grizzly bear and life-sized stork.
Barden's summer flowerbeds have drawn legions of admirers through the years.
A distinctive pink fence surrounded the homestead.
"It's kind of a landmark. He has been doing that for years. He always took pride in his work," Hollingshead said. The estimated repair cost to the house is pegged at $150,000.
"Damage to the home was extensive, with structural damage to the home ceiling joist and rafter systems. Smoke and water damage was extensive (and) exterior finishes of siding trim windows will require replacement," Breen said.
Firefighters from Hingham, Scituate, and Cohasset gave mutual aid battling the fire. The Red Cross provided the victims with four nights of hotel accommodations, as well as money for food and clothing, said Ashley Studley, communications director for the American Red Cross of Massachusetts in Cambridge.
The agency is working to help each fire victim find new living arrangements, Studley said. ∞
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Copyright © 2013 Hull Times 11/21/2013
R.I.P. Winston We know you are on the Rainbow Bridge.
The fire was started by the homeowner's daughter carelessly flicking lit cigarettes out the window. The fire started right outside of Joni's apartment and destroyed everything.
Joni needs our help to get a fresh start, beginning with a place to live with her four surviving cats, Julian, Anya, Ronnie and Ian Alexander. She's uninsured with no savings.
So far over $3,000 out of the money raised so far has been used to pay for temporary housing. Joni will need an additional $2,000 to rent an apartment for one month (1st month rent + security) and moving expenses.
She also needs everything for the household:
Furniture
Cutlery
Pots & Pans
Dishes & Glasses
Towels
Sheets
Comforter
Pillows
Etc....
Also clothing and shoes, toiletries, makeup and other personal needs. Telephone credit would also be appreciated.
You can message me if you would like further information about sizes, mailing address, etc.
Together we can help.
Thank you.
Here is the article from the 11/21/2013 Hull Times (link doesn't work properly) . Note that the article states that all of the cats were saved. Winston perished in the fire. Also, The Red Cross is NOT helping her find an apartment.
Hull Times 11/21/2013, Page 1
5 people, 5 cats displaced by A Street blaze
By Allan Stein
Hull Fire officials said the careless disposal of a cigarette set ablaze one of Hull's most whimsically adorned homesteads at 52 A St., displacing five residents and as many cats.
Firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire that was reported at 11:15 p.m. Nov. 14, after the blaze had traveled up through the backyard walls of the two-story single-family house and forced the tenants to leave.
Fire Chief Robert Hollingshead said it appears someone had tossed a lit cigarette onto the backyard mulch, which smoldered and then caught fire.
"The smoldering cigarette was able to ignite mulch and extend under the siding to go undetected for several hours," Hull Fire Capt. Kevin Breen said in the official incident report.
Investigators later found several extinguished cigarette butts that also had been discarded in the mulch.
Fire victims stated they had noticed an odor of smoke around 7 p.m., although the fire call arrived at the department four hours later, Breen said.
A rescue crew at the scene reported "heavy fire in the walls and ceiling in the bathroom and kitchen area," he said.
Firefighters knocked down the burning walls and had the fire under control in about a half hour, Hollingshead said. He said efforts to extinguish the blaze were
Continued on page 5
Fire Chief Robert Hollingshead in the backyard at 52 A Street. [Photo use courtesy of the Hull Fire Dept.]
A Street fire
Continued from page 1
because of the antiquated "balloon-frame construction" of the house and the resulting lack of fire steps in stud chases, which serve as fire barriers between floors.
"The fire traveled extremely fast throughout the structure because of the construction," Hollingshead said.
Homeowner Leo Barden and four other occupants evacuated the burning house. Three went to area hospitals with minor injuries.
A basement apartment tenant's five cats that lived in her unit were unaccounted for at first.
"We were a little concerned the night of the fire but all five cats turned up the following day," the chief said.
Barden has been renting out vacant rooms for rent this year. "We presume there were boarders there," the fire chief said.
Barden could not be reached for comment.
Fire officials said the pre-1950s house is uninhabitable. All that remains of the well-known local landmark are dozens of handcrafted wood and ceramic lawn ornaments crowded into the front and back yard areas.
Hollingshead said Barden was known for his craftsmanship, creating pinwheels, Walt Disney characters, birdhouses, flowerpots, scale-model houses, and various animal figures, including a grizzly bear and life-sized stork.
Barden's summer flowerbeds have drawn legions of admirers through the years.
A distinctive pink fence surrounded the homestead.
"It's kind of a landmark. He has been doing that for years. He always took pride in his work," Hollingshead said. The estimated repair cost to the house is pegged at $150,000.
"Damage to the home was extensive, with structural damage to the home ceiling joist and rafter systems. Smoke and water damage was extensive (and) exterior finishes of siding trim windows will require replacement," Breen said.
Firefighters from Hingham, Scituate, and Cohasset gave mutual aid battling the fire. The Red Cross provided the victims with four nights of hotel accommodations, as well as money for food and clothing, said Ashley Studley, communications director for the American Red Cross of Massachusetts in Cambridge.
The agency is working to help each fire victim find new living arrangements, Studley said. ∞
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Copyright © 2013 Hull Times 11/21/2013
Organizer
Susan Bulavinetz
Organizer
Bronxville, NY
