Fire Leaves Cody, Wyoming Family Homeless

Aug. 10, 2004
Two boys and a dog escaped a fire in their mobile home, but their cat did not make it
Two boys and a dog escaped a fire in their mobile home at 208 34th St. last Thursday morning, but their cat did not make it.

"The kids lost everything in their bedroom - their beds, clothes, television, Xbox video games," said Traci Guthrie, mother of Tyler, 13, and Zac, 11. "But the main thing is they're OK."

The cause of the blaze that began in the back bedroom is under investigation, fire marshal Russ Wenke said. The 13-year-old boy reported he was looking into a small can of gasoline for the lawn mower with a cigarette lighter, the gas caught on fire, he dropped the lighter and left the bedroom.

The boys knew what to do in case of fire because of the annual training at Eastside School taught by firemen, Guthrie said.

"We had talked about what to do in a fire," she added, because they lived in a mobile home. "Trailers go up so quickly.

"I'm proud of my kids. They didn't panic. Thank God they didn't panic."

The family had discussed the routine of getting out of the house and going to the neighbors. The boys did what they had learned.

"They both came out fine," she added.

The home had a smoke detector, hard wired into the hallway, that awoke Zac who was sleeping in the living room. When he and Tyler left the home, "the dog followed them out," Guthrie said.

With their training they knew not to go back in for the other pet, a 22-pound cat, she added.

"The 9-year-old cat was like a big, grumpy old man," Guthrie said.

She was at work in the Albertsons customer service department when the call came.

"I just ran out," Guthrie recalled. She drove toward home and encountered a vehicle in her way.

"Coming around the corner, I just laid on the horn," she said. "I saw smoke rolling out of the house and my kids on the other side of the street."

The family is staying with Guthrie's mother and was able to retrieve some belongings but is looking for a place to store them until they can be cleaned. They also are looking for a new home.

Guthrie had no insurance coverage.

"It's either groceries or insurance," she said. "Those kids eat a lot."

Guthrie added her appreciation for Cody firemen and her co-workers who have helped with food, clothing, hugs and support. Her first day back at work was Monday, when she said it was hard to leave her children. She offered a message for other parents.

"Every day, make sure to hug and kiss your kids," she said.

Although the mobile home sustained little structural damage, Wenke said the back half was extensively damaged, and there is extensive smoke damage.

The fire call came at 10:33 a.m. with four units responding. Firemen spent about two hours on the scene.

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