Irony Strikes Twice in Hart Fire

[XLFD]

First Irony

Chris Arquette was at Mason-Oceana County 911 doing what most new firefighters do a lot of: train.  Arquette had recently joined the Hart Fire Department and he heard just about the worst thing you could ever hear on one of his fellow trainee's pager.  A call out for a structure fire at an address that he was well familiar with, as it was his home.  He went home and found his fellow firefighters in the process of putting out a fire that destroyed his house and much of his belongings.

Second Irony

Like most volunteer or part-paid volunteer firefighters, Chris Arquette has a secondary job to make a living for him and his family; he works as a full-time employee at Adams' Heating and Cooling in Hart.  This involves the proper installation and maintenance of heating systems for Hart and the surrounding areas.  According to his fellow firefighter Zach Thocher, Arquette had just installed a woodstove in his home a couple months earlier and connected it to the existing chimney where the fire occurred. 

How You Can Help

Back when I was on the Ludington Fire Department, there was an unwritten rule that if your residence or your immediate neighbors was where the fire department had to go for a fire call, that you would be obliged to pay the bill for the meal your fellow firefighters consumed after that. 

Chris Arquette fortunately has house insurance, so the destruction of his house will be minimalized, but he and his three kids (above, Andrew, 5, Braden, 9, and Hailey, 12 ) are currently displaced and having to replace what they have lost within the house. 

To this end a site has been set up to help Chris and his home crew through this hard time at

http://www.gofundme.com/ha3ljg 

Please visit and make a donation.  The goal is to achieve $5000 (no more than that) to help him through this transitional period.  His fellow firefighter Zach Thocher says:  “It’s just to help a hardworking father to help support his kids. We’re not looking for a huge donation, just a little bit of help to get him through a hard time. He’s the kind of guy who would step up to the plate and help anybody else and I think he deserves the same in return.”

[Willy]

Wood burning heaters are very dangerous. They cannot be connected to a chimney that has gas burning appliances, so I hope that was not the case because if this heater was not installed to code then his insurance company may tell him he is not covered. I've had a lot of dealings with wood burning heaters and know that they must be installed according to strict regulations. I hope he can raise enough money to take care of his kids.