By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer - mtrax@starbeacon.com
GENEVA — Bits of charred furniture and plaster crunch under Jeff Foss’ shoes as he walks through what is left of his hallway. Following her husband up the narrow staircase, Tiffani Foss fights back tears she can’t hold as her fingers smudge the blackened walls.
Flames chased the family out the front door Jan. 21 as they were enjoying a leisurely day at home. The Fosses didn’t even know the house was on fire until a neighbor knocked at the door.
“The whole thing was surreal. I was standing in the driveway watching my house burn and I couldn’t even process what was happening,” Tiffani said.
Now dealing with the aftermath of the fire, the Fosses are working to clean out the house at 729 Eastlawn St., preparing the shell of a house for total renovation.
“What wasn’t burned up got soaked. So much is smoke damaged and water damaged. We still don’t know what we will keep,” Jeff said.
The Fosses are staying with family while their house is repaired. They were also assisted by the American Red Cross Ashtabula County branch.
Tiffani said she has come to terms with the hand fate had dealt her family and is thankful for her children, John, 2, and Angelena, 5. Even the Fosses’ pets survived the fire.
Geneva firefighters believe the fire started in the chimney and spread in the walls and ceiling of the house, manifesting in John’s bedroom upstairs. Firefighters broke windows and chopped holes in the roof to ventilate the space, extinguishing the fire with water and foam.
“Its just that the fire destroyed everything the kids had. I mean, John’s bed is up against the wall that was on fire. If this had happened at night, well, I don’t want to think about that,” Tiffani said.
Just three rooms escaped serious damage, though all have some water damage, Jeff said. The family has homeowner’s insurance.
Plywood and tarps cover the gaping holes in the roof above John’s room, his blue race car toddler bed filthy with soot. One door down in Angelena’s room, heavy plaster and burned wood cover the daybed and floor.
Tiffani said the furniture, carpet and plaster can be replaced, but she still mourns the loss of John’s baby book and hospital bracelet.
“I would give anything, anything if this had happened in our room. The kids lost everything: Every toy, every book, all their clothes. It breaks my heart to think that all the things they associate with home and safety and their bedrooms is gone,” she said.
The loss is especially troubling for the family as they prepare to celebrate John’s second birthday Wednesday.
“Poor little guy. First everything burns up, then we can’t give him a decent birthday,” Tiffani said.
The community is coming together for the Fosses. The Foss Fire Fund has been established at Key Bank and monetary donations can be made at any Ashtabula County branch. Donations of toys, clothes, furniture and other household items can be left at The Light Touch Florist Shop, 220 East Main St. For more information on how to help, contact Darlene Light at (440) 466-0800.
“We are so grateful for this community and for our neighbors. Everyone has been so wonderful through this and that is why we will rebuild this house in this neighborhood. What everyone has done for us is amazing,” Jeff said.
