No one was at home when the fire erupted, and they were about 10 minutes away when Toni said she was contacted by her manager, Kim Miller, who had heard the Mishlers' Ofen Cove address broadcast over a fire page.
Toni, a Pomerene Hospital obstetrics nurse, is responsible for conducting home visits for new moms and babies and had been pleased a light schedule of only two home visits gave her a rare chance to join her husband for Wednesday evening church services. Had she not been with him at church, she likely would …show more content…
Since, she said, they've added an ornament a year, often representative of a significant life event. She was saddened by the loss of those and the many ornaments hand-crafted by her children over the years — even :the ugly angels made from napkins” that, despite their appearance, always made it onto the the tree, albeit on the back side.
“I always said I would grab that box first if my house ever burned,” she said, shaking her head, realizing that was no longer a reality, but comforted in the fact the memories will never be lost.
Holmes Fire District No. 1 was dispatched to 7976 Ofen Cove at 9:04 p.m. after a passerby saw fire in the garage. The first truck arrived 10 minutes later, at which time the fire had spread into the house and was fully involved, according to Chief Scott Balder.
It took about 1 ½ hours for responders to contain the fire, and, using about 40,000 gallons of water from the lake, they remained on scene until about 2 p.m.
A total of about 20 firefighters responded, with mutual aid from East Holmes Fire & EMS Co, Prairie Township and Killbuck volunteer fire