An Oakhurst family’s loss becomes their gain

BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

The Lewis-Lee children, (l-r) Abby Lewis, Lauren Lee, Alexa Lewis and Victoria Lee, celebrated the three older children’s birthdays at Nick’s Restaurant in Wanamassa two days before the fire. Chris Lee and his wife, Dana Lewis Lee, along with their four children, will never forget the morning they awoke at 5:30 a.m. to the shrill noise of smoke detectors during one of the worst snowstorms in years.

It was Jan. 23, a Sunday morning, and the downstairs portion of their house at 211 Oakhurst Road in Oakhurst was filled with smoke. There was a fire in their dining room.

Fortunately, the whole family was able to get out unhurt, but they lost everything, including photo albums chronicling all the precious moments in the lives of their children, Lexi Lewis, 10, Lauren, 10, Abby, 7, and Victoria, 17 months.

“The house was so hot, things inside the house melted,” Chris Lee said. “The pictures are what we miss the most. My wife is a teacher and is fanatical about keeping things up-to-date. She kept pictures of every month of each baby’s life. Everything else can be replaced but the photo albums.

“We went back to the house after the fire department left,” he added. “It was sickening to think that we were watching the TV that was melted. It felt like it wasn’t real, like we were watching a movie.”

Dana agreed. “We went into the house that day because we thought maybe we could get some things for the kids. It was like a scene from a movie. We were walking on ashes and rubble. It was devastating.”

She acknowledged that the fact that her family was unharmed was the most important thing, but still, there is the loss of something that can’t be recovered.

“My family comes first, and then my scrapbooks.”

The Lees had bought a digital camera in December so they do have pictures taken from December until the fire because they were in an on-line photo album. She also plans to give family members blank albums to fill with whatever pictures they have taken.

Chris said they found out later that the fire started in the fireplace because there was a crack at the bottom.

“The heat went through the crack and underneath the fireplace,” he said.

No one knew that they had a fire hazard in the making. All they knew was that it was a cold night and a fire was cozy, so they built one and kept it going until it was time to go to bed.

“We put the fire out and went to bed at 11 [p.m.],” Chris said, explaining that at 5:30 a. m. they woke because the smoke alarms were going crazy.

“My wife got up first and opened the bedroom door. She went down a couple of steps, but when she saw the smoke she came back and woke me up. We saw that the dining room was on fire, so she went to awaken the three older kids and took them downstairs. I went to get the baby.

“The back door was blocked by fire, and the fire was near the front door, but it was safer to go that way. She found it hard to get the door open because it was blocked by snow. I came out a minute later,” he said.

“They were all outside in their pjs barefoot in the snow. I was barefoot too and I didn’t have a shirt on. When I grabbed the baby, I took the blankets too, so the baby was wrapped up.”

The family went next door to neighbors who called 911. Chris said the fire department and police came very quickly. He added that he had heard they were on standby because of the weather.

Dana had lived in the house for 10 years and Chris moved in two years ago when the couple married and became a blended family. He said all four children developed upper respiratory illnesses right after the fire.

“All the kids came down with strep throat and I had bronchitis. My wife is the only one who escaped the sickness,” he said.

Dana teaches basic skills at Ocean Township Elementary School and Chris is an area manager for NY Sports Clubs Health and Fitness.

Both said they were amazed by the outpouring of support from the community.

“So many people helped us. It was just amazing. It felt like the community picked us up and hugged us,” Dana said.

Within two hours after the fire was extinguished, her husband said, it seemed as though the whole town knew.

“We got phone calls from people saying come on over, we have clothes for the girls. I was lucky, I had three pairs of pants and two shirts at the dry cleaner. I’ve been recycling.”

Dana said they feel indebted to the community.

“It was an eye-opening experience. All of the schools and the teachers did fund-raisers for us. My husband’s business associates were very generous.”

Help also came from Belmar, from the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh.

“When they hear about something like this, they let people know that there’s a family in need. They provided clothing and appliances,” Dana said.

She said she is also grateful to St. Michael’s Church in Long Branch and the Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts, which also helped with clothing.

The morning of the fire, Super Foodtown in Ocean Township, supplied diapers and baby bottles.

“It was the day of the blizzard, and they opened the store for Dana’s father and donated all of the things for her immediate needs.”

In addition, KAS Dance Works of Eatontown, supplied two of the girls with everything that they needed to get right back to their dance classes. Plus, he added, three of the children had birthdays in January.

“People threw them parties,” he said.

“Within a day, we were saying what a great place to be living. It was so heartwarming. It made us feel so much better and stronger. We feel blessed,” Dana said. “It was a bad situation that had such a positive outcome.”

The family stayed with Dana’s parents until they could find a house to rent. Now they live on Elizabeth Street, about a half-mile away, close enough for the children to see their friends and go to the same schools.

It will be six or nine months before the family can move back into their house.

“They have to strip it down to the studs. We are still in the process of working with adjusters,” Chris said.

This blended family now has a shared memory, Dana said, even if it isn’t a good one. “We have been through something together.”