Easter was most likely a strange event for most families this year due to the quarantine, but for junior Dawson Vogelaar and his family, it was an Easter they will never forget. But it could have been worse. It could have ended in an explosion.

Vogelaar went into his garage to work on his baseball card boxes when he suddenly heard the sound of crackling.

He then walked to the backyard to see where the crackling sound was coming from. He was shocked to find out that it was his own house on fire. The hot grass and the wet fire coals in his back yard had started a fire on the side of Vogelaar’s house.  

“I noticed the fire and immediately acted by running inside and telling my family to get out of the house and call 911 because our house is on fire,” Volgelaar said. “Then proceeded to grab the hose nozzle and run around the house and put it on the house and then put the fire out.”

It took the firemen about five minutes to get to the house, but the fire was put out before the firemen got there. The fire department said that if Vogelaar had not noticed the fire when he did and immediately started putting it out the house would have exploded. There is a gas line that runs along the wall where the fire was, if it were to spread a little more the whole house would have caught on fire.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Photo courtesy of Dawson Volgelaar

To make sure the house was fire free they took axes and chainsaws to the side of the house. The fire was a three alarm fire, meaning there were police, firemen, and ambulance. There was a little bit of water and smoke damage to the side of the house and it will take sixty to ninety days of construction to fix it. 

The Bell wants you to remember that everyone is here for you!

•  Do you feel unsafe? Are you concerned about a friend? Please report it HERE.
• Do you need someone to talk to? Email someone from the  The Counseling Department
• Do you need food or other basic needs? Visit the LPS webpage HERE.