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Couple lose home and dog to fire, gain friends

After a devastating fire, a Tierra Verde couple receives a flood of help from neighbors.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published August 17, 2005

TIERRA VERDE - It's about the dog. And the kids. And the neighbors.

Susan and Rudy Krajcovic lost their home to fire Friday, but all they can talk about is losing a dog while finding a community.

"These are the most wonderful people in the world," said Susan, choking back tears over the instant and overwhelming generosity she saw from her Tierra Verde neighbors in the wake of the fire that destroyed their home at 417 Monte Cristo Blvd. "I can't express it. What a wonderful community."

Susan said they knew their neighbors, but they didn't feel they were close. When the fire hit, though, the neighborhood sprang into action. Rudy said people were offering help before the fire was out, before he and his wife could even think of what they might need. Some of that help came in the form of compassion from the area's smallest residents.

The couple lost their 8-year-old Great Pyrenees, Samson, a furry white lumbering 170-pound polar bear of a dog that children in the neighborhood treated as a pet.

Unable to escape a fire that consumed the house in less than half an hour, Samson died of smoke inhalation. Firefighters found him in the laundry room, his place to wait to go outside. It took four of them to carry his body out, which they did carefully so the children couldn't see.

The next day, up sprouted an impromptu memorial in the Krajcovics front yard. The children built a cross that reads: Samson, beloved family dog. At the foot of the cross are flowers and dog treats and cards they used to express their loss of their dear, huge friend.

"I doubt we would have gotten this kind of reaction from our old neighborhood," Susan said. The couple bought the 20-year-old house a little more than three years ago after moving from Atlanta. They moved here for the sun and water and liked the neighborhood, but they never had any idea what they were buying into.

"Everything is gone, all our possessions," Rudy said. "And our neighbors come up to us and start offering everything."

The couple is staying next door with Steve and Diane Hartley. Rudy is wearing clothing from a neighbor across the street. Another neighbor, who lost a child, came and offered condolences for the Krajcovics' losses. Food, water, offers of shelter, even money keep pouring in.

"One lady came up to me that night, I don't even know her, and she stuck $50 in my pocket," Rudy said. "She said, "My house was on fire a few years ago and somebody did this for me.' "

"I'm just so grateful," he said, starting to sob. "I never would have dreamed . . . "

"That people could be so kind," finished Susan as Rudy lost his voice.

After calling in the claim to their insurance company after the fire Friday, the couple has yet to hear from an adjuster.

"For days, they've left us with nothing," Susan said.

Rudy learned of the fire at 2:33 p.m. Friday when his alarm company called. Working on a project in Fort Myers, he raced home but couldn't get there before 4:30 p.m., by which time his house was a smoldering wreck. His wife, who usually stays home with the dog, had gone out that day to visit a friend. Her cell phone was dead, so she didn't know of the fire until 9:30 p.m. when she arrived home. The couple say neither they nor fire officials know what caused the blaze.

"I'm always home," Susan said. Monday she went to say her goodbyes to Samson. "I told him I'm sorry I wasn't there for him."

The community continues to pitch in. Neighbor Faun Baldizzi came by to say the Tierra Verde Homeowner's Association would help organize a large community event to help the Krajcovics.

"We would hope our neighbors would do this for us, if it happened to us," Baldizzi said. In the immediate few blocks, she said there are 25 children of various ages and numerous pets that bind them all together. "We just look out for each other. It's a sense of community that stems from the kids and the animals and the adults."

As the Krajcovics marvel at the community's generosity, Faun reassures them the help came because "you guys are good people."

"But they don't know that we're good people," Susan said.

The couple say they don't know how they can ever give thanks for what they've received. Rudy said he is happy his company, Ajax Building Co. in Tampa, has let him take all the time he wants and offered staff to help, but he fears he'll lose track of the anonymous generosity of people who live near him. He said they plan to rebuild because "When you've got neighbors like this, why would you ever want to leave?"

Susan concurs as they talk about one day having a huge party to thank their friends and neighbors.

"I'm really thankful," she said, standing in her charred home. "It's a funny thing to say in the midst of this.

"You have nothing, and then you have everything. Out of all this heartache came all this blessing."

[Last modified August 17, 2005, 01:09:16]