Tragic Indiana Fire Prompts Smoke Detector Program

March 20--TERRE HAUTE -- In Terre Haute's Highland Lawn Cemetery, at the base of a quiet hill next to a pair of peaceful ponds, a gracefully sweeping grave marker indicates where a young mother and daughter are buried together, both victims of the same fatal house fire.

Kayla Nicole Lewis, 23, and her 2-year-old daughter, Gabrielle Renee Cunningham, died just over a year ago in one of the worst home fires in recent Terre Haute history. Five-year-old Jeremiah Dupin, Gabrielle's step-brother, also perished in the blaze.

From the ashes of that fire, which took place about 1:30 a.m. March 5, 2011, at a home in the 900 block of South Ninth Street, the Terre Haute Fire Department has increased its efforts to put smoke detectors in homes all across the city.

The Fire Department is continuing that effort through a new program known as Protect the Precious.

"Protect the Precious is an awesome program," said Valerie McCullough, mother of Kayla Lewis and grandmother to Gabrielle, better known as Gabby. "I miss my daughter," McCullough said Monday evening at Fire Station 5 downtown. "I cry everyday. And I miss my granddaughter. But, by being able to do this, something positive can come out of something so devastating."

Since the tragic fire, the Fire Department has distributed about 1,000 smoke detectors, said Fire Chief Jeff Fisher, who was also at Station 5 with McCullough promoting the Protect the Precious program.

Several local businesses and organizations have supported the program through generous donations, said Rich Gallagher, a Terre Haute firefighter. Those supporters include Duke Energy, Servpro, Walgreens, Kirby Risk Electrical Supply, the Terre Haute Fire Department and the Firefighters Union, Local 758. Most recently Scott's Custom Colors and the Firefighters Local 758 have provided donations that placed smoke detectors on all department fire trucks.

Having detectors and drills onboard all fire apparatus will allow the department to proactively offer and install detectors when out on less urgent runs, Gallagher said.

"When we go into a home now, instead of just leaving, we're going to ask" if the residents require smoke detectors, Gallagher said. "Firefighters are going to be proactive."

The department has also teamed up with Vigo County schools to send calendars home with children. Those calendars remind families to check their detectors once a month and also include safety exercises that kids can carry out as classroom assignments, Gallagher said.

McCullough believes anything she can do to promote the use of smoke detectors is her way to turn her family's tragedy into something that can save lives.

"I think about them every day," McCullough said of her lost loved ones. "And I cry every day. I do a lot of praying. Who am I to say that other people can't be helped because of what happened to us? Other people need help. If this is one way to help them, I'm all for it."

To help support the Protect the Precious program, contact the Terre Haute Fire Department at (812) 244-2803. There is also a Protect the Precious page on Facebook.

Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or [email protected].

Copyright 2012 - The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.