Local woman in need of help after fire
Smoke rolled out of Carolyn White’s trailer on May 11, when it caught on fire. White lost everything in the fire and anyone interested in helping her is encouraged to call The Salvation Army at 740-622-0971 or Red Cross Volunteer Sher Alloway at 740- 202-0898.
COSHOCTON – Carolyn White suffered a devastating loss on May 11, but with the help of the community she is picking up the pieces.
The house trailer on Water Street that she has rented since 2001 caught on fire and all her possessions went up with it.
“I’m going to miss my family pictures the most,” White said.
Thankfully though, she wasn’t home when the fire started.
“I was out seeing my land lady at a nursing home,” White said. “I use Bob’s Cab a lot so they know me and when I got in, he (the driver) got a call and told me he had something to tell me. They heard on the scanner about the fire and thought it was my trailer.”
The cab driver got White home as fast as he could, but as close as he could get was Wendy’s parking lot.
“I got out and started waving my arms at the firefighters to let them know I wasn’t in there,” she said.
White said the fire started when a maintenance man was working on a power pole and it fell over on the trailer.
“The fire department was saying they were sorry they couldn’t get there faster because they were stopped by a train, but that’s not their fault,” White said.
The American Red Cross Coshocton office put White up at the Coshocton Village Inn and Suites for three nights and is working with her on a recovery plan.
“The hotel has been wonderful and one of our board members brought her some Vera Bradley bags to choose from,” said Sher Alloway, who is a Red Cross volunteer.
The Salvation Army also has helped and Bob Evans provided her with a nice meal the day of the fire.
“We already have another rental lined up for her and it’s a house, but she is still going to need some furniture and things” Alloway said. “The Salvation Army has blankets and towels, but they have no furniture right now.”
White is doing much better emotionally, but right after the fire she was in total shock.
“I couldn’t even cry because I was so in shock,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep at all last night (May 11). Every time I closed my eyes I’d think of the trailer being on fire.”
However, by the next morning she knew she had to start working on moving forward.
“Sometimes it’s hard to get people to focus on a recovery plan, but Carolyn was up at 8 a.m. the next day getting her mail stopped and going to The Salvation Army for clothing and food,” Alloway said. “She’s a trooper.”
Anyone who would like to help White is encouraged to call The Salvation Army at 740-622-0971 or Alloway at 740- 202-0898. She greatly appreciates everyone who has already helped.
“I hope God just blesses them richly,” White said.
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: People & Places
