Darien family recovering from Thanksgiving blaze
TO HELP
A benefit for the Lewis family will be at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Chalet at Geneva Ridge, formerly Interlaken Resort, at W4240 State Road 50, Lake Geneva. The cost is $10 at the door. There will be dinner, beverages, music, raffles and a silent auction.
Donations are being accepted at any Walworth State Bank branch. Checks should be payable to the David and Sheila Lewis Benefit Fund.
Call Rob Sorensen at (262) 749-0000 for more information.
Photo
This burned out vehicle was one of the casualties of the Thanksgiving night fire atW8280 Springwood Lane in Darien Township.
Photo
This Darien Township home on Springwood Lane burned down on Thanksgiving night.
DARIEN TOWNSHIP — Thanksgiving night was a tragic one for Sheila and David Lewis of Darien Township.
The Lewis family lost their two-story house in Darien Township to a late-night blaze on Thanksgiving. It destroyed most of their property on Springwood Lane, northwest of Delavan.
But they said reasons remain to be thankful: The couple and their two children were safe, their dogs left unharmed and they have friends helping them reconstruct what they lost.
A benefit for the Lewis family will be held this Saturday at the Chalet at Geneva Ridge in Lake Geneva.
“I woke up Monday morning, put my boots on and thought to myself: ‘This guy woke up Monday morning to go to work and didn’t have a pair of shoes to wear,’” said Rob Sorensen, a family friend who is organizing the Saturday benefit.
Sorensen of Williams Bay has been a family friend for 25 years. David Lewis was his best man, and they have worked together for more than two decades. But he would do this to help anybody in the community.
“They’re people who need help,” Sorensen added. “Whether they’re friends or not, they lost everything they had, even their clothes, and they need help.”
David Lewis was the only person at the house that night. Sheila and the couple’s two children, 10-year-old Mitchell and 13-year-old Alexandra, were spending Thanksgiving north with the rest of their family. David was at home hunting, as he normally does over the holidays.
The fire started around 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. David was sleeping inside the house. Awakened, he looked out the window and saw flames coming from the southeast corner of the house.
David acted on pure instinct. “It was fear going through my head, panic,” he added.
David ran outside with a fire extinguisher and unsuccessfully attempted to put out the fire. So he ran back, took the family’s two dogs outside and dialed 911.
“I happened to grab pants and a pair of shoes and somehow grabbed my cell phone, which I don’t remember doing,” he said.
“Thank God my family wasn’t home. It was something that happened so fast.”
David tried to take out his truck, but the garage door opener melted and the vehicle was stuck inside.
He stood outside, watching as his home burn.
The Lewis family plans to rebuild the house where they lived for 10 years, Sheila said. The place has special significance to them because it was built with help from family members. Sheila’s brother-in-law tiled the floors and hung drywall.
For now, they’re staying at a hotel in Delavan. Sheila said the family found a few options of places to live temporarily, mostly through help from friends.
It might take them a while, but they will rebuild, Sheila said. “It was not just a house, it was a home,” she added.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.