News

Upham family loses house to fire

By Scott Wagar

05/28/2013

For Kelani Welstad; her husband, Tyler; and their two children Schale, age four, and Evi, age one, life has been difficult for them in recent weeks due to a fire that caused the loss of their home in Upham.

At the present moment, as the family waits to hear what caused the fire to their home, it is believed that it might have been an electrical fire that started on the outside of their home near a sliding door on the house. What is known is that the family was awakened by the fire after it burned so hot that it caused the windows of the sliding doors to explode, which sent Kelani and Tyler into action in attempts to get their children to safety and to save their home.

911 SERVICE
 
Unfortunately for the Welstads, they had difficulty with McHenry County’s 911 Service, which caused a difficult time for them while attempting to care for their family and house in the midst of the fire.

“When we are in elementary school, and probably even before we go to school, we are taught that in an emergency we dial 911 and someone will be on the other line to help you,” Kelani said. “Now, almost 30 years old, I remembered what I was taught when I was younger and dialed 911, only to find out it wouldn’t be so helpful.

“Being woken up by the sound of the sliding glass doors exploding, the first thing I did was dial 911 on my house phone.  After the 911 dispatcher answered I told him, ‘House fire at Tyler Welstad’s 8098 14th Ave N Upham, send someone fast.  The dispatcher calmly told me to calm down and repeat slower. This time I repeated “House fire at Tyler Werlstad 8098 14th Ave N Upham, I have to go get my kids out, send someone fast.’ I grabbed my kids from their beds and ran them out the front door of my house and put them into my car. I have a cell phone in my car for emergencies and I call my brother-in-law, Dustin Welstad, who was on the fire department in Upham. Once he answered I screamed, ‘house fire come quick,’” said Kelani, who added that when all this was going on the fire moved up into the rafters of their house causing the fire to intensify. “I ran back into the house to help my husband get out anything that we could because we didn’t know how far the fire would spread. While doing this, the house phone was ringing. I answered and no one was on the other line. I continued to grab our things and rush them out of the house as the house phone ran again. My husband answered the phone and it was 911 from McHenry County. The dispatcher proceeded to tell him that our address was coming up as a Bantry address. Tyler told them ‘no’ that we were in Upham. However, the dispatcher continued to argue with him stating that the phone number was coming up as a Willow City phone number. Now, by this time my brother-in-law had called the fire department’s number directly and was already almost to our house which is seven miles away.”

As the Upham fire department made it to the Welstad’s home they were able to get up in the rafters and get the fire out and under control.

For Kelani, she is so thankful for the assistance of the Upham fire department.

“I give complete credit to the Upham Fire Protection District for coming out so quickly that awful night. I give them credit for getting to the scene so quickly, and for being so professional. I can’t tell everyone who helped us that night thank you enough for saving us and our home,” Kelani said. “And, I am so thankful to the 40 plus volunteers and friends that showed up at 2 a.m. to help us get the fire out and get our most valuable belongings out of the house. I cannot, however, say thank you to the 911 system.

“I’ve asked the questions as to why our address did not show up in the 911 system. We have been at this location for almost two years and we had to set up our 911 address prior to even moving into our house two years ago, so we did our part prior to occupying the residence,” Kelani stated. “I’ve also wondered why the dispatcher continued to argue with myself and my husband and tell us we do not know where we live. And, I am trying to figure out how I’m supposed to teach my kids, or anyone for that matter, to call 911 in the future when they so clearly failed me. Things worked out for us because I knew to call my brother-in-law directly.”

In speaking with McHenry County deputy and former member of McHenry County’s 911 Service Department, Calise Linstrom, stated the county is currently working on rebuilding their 911 Service and were confused with the incident that took place at the Welstad farm during the early morning hours of May 13.

She also said that McHenry did dispatch fire protection to Bantry instead of Upham; however, with Kelani’s quick think and calling her brother-in-law, fire trucks where sent to the proper house.
Linstrom added that McHenry County is puzzled by the incident and frustrated by what happened, but that they are working diligently to get the current problems they are facing solved.

AFTERMATH
 
Since the fire, the Welstads have been told that the fire was mostly structural, along with smoke and water damage. The family’s clothes and smaller belongings were saved from the fire, but the remainder of their household items were lost. Due to this, Tyler and Kelani will probably have to take their house down to the frame and start over from there.

At the present moment, the family is currently living in a recreational camper in Upham’s city park, but will be renting a home in the area until they can rebuild their house and move back in again.

COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE

With facing hard times, the local communities in the area have come together to assist the Welstads get through this time. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in Bottineau is asking individuals to donate money to the People State Bank of Westhope or Newburg and have agreed to supplement funds to the Welstads through the donations that will come in. Hope Lutheran Church in Upham is also going to sponsor a BBQ benefit for the Welstads on June 19.

LESSON LEARNED

Although the Welstad family had difficulty with the 911 Service in McHenry County during the fire, Kelani stated that she has learned a valuable lesson from the incident.

“I can’t concern myself with the what-ifs,” she said. “But, I want individuals to know that they should check with their local 911 Services to make sure they have your correct home addresses so something like this doesn’t happen again.”