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Letter to the editor

Fateful calls tell of fire

First one neighbor, then another. It's no joke. The gutted house was his life.

By Abhi Raghunathan, Times Staff Writer
Published March 5, 2008

Firefighters got a fire Tuesday morning at 2244 11th St. S under control in about 10 minutes. The cause is unknown, and no one was injured.
	[Lara Cerri | Times]

ST. PETERSBURG - McKinley Bentley moved to the small pastel house at 2244 11th St. S because he wanted to raise his children in a tight-knit neighborhood, the kind of street where everybody knows everybody else's business.

On Tuesday morning, Bentley, 38, was doing some yard work for someone across town when a neighbor called.

"Your house is on fire."

Bentley said he thought the neighbor was joking. Then another neighbor called and told him the same thing.

Bentley rushed home and saw that his house was gutted by a blaze that started in a bedroom.

"I can't even describe how I'm feeling right now," Bentley said while standing outside the remnants of his home Tuesday. "I think we'll get through it. We'll pull together."

The fire's cause is still under investigation, said Lt. Rick Feinberg of St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue. Authorities were called about 9:38 a.m. Tuesday and managed to get the fire under control in about 10 minutes.

Bentley has lived in the home for about six years with his three sons and a daughter, ages 9 to 15.

He said they probably would live with his mother while deciding what to do next. The American Red Cross also is helping the family.

Bentley said they lived in Childs Park, but moved to the house on 11th Street because he liked the community. He works as a chef, and the rent for the house is subsidized.

"I help everybody else out, and I know they'll help me out," he said.

Audrey Bentley, 31, McKinley's ex-wife, also came to the house after learning about the fire. She said she works as a house-sitter and was in Seminole when she got the news.

"I was shocked," she said.

She added that it was fortunate that no one was home when the fire broke out. Three of the children were at school, and another was at a doctor's appointment.

As relatives gathered outside the home Tuesday, firefighters went through the inside, tossing scraps of insulation and charred goods out the bedroom window.

McKinley Bentley shook his head as he looked at the scene.

"I still can't believe it," he said.

But he vowed that he would return to the neighborhood as soon as possible.

"This is my home," he said. "I think we're coming back. We're a strong family."

Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or 727 893-8472.

[Last modified March 4, 2008, 23:23:10]