Family narrowly escapes as fire destroys home

A family of four narrowly escaped a Monday evening fire that destroyed their Newton home.

The Newton Fire Department released details about the fire Wednesday morning.

Less than 24 hours after the fire, relief efforts for the family were already underway.

A GoFundMe account page has been set up for the family of Ryan Spidell and Noelle Matters and their two daughters, Summer and Kaylee. The home they are renting, located in the 600 block of East 10th Street North, caught on fire Monday at about 6:45 p.m., and the four of them, along with Noelle's brother, Tyler, were barely able to get out of the house before flames consumed it, and most of their possessions and the home were ruined.

Kaylee, the older of the two children, has severe autism. The exact cause of the fire hasn't been determined yet, as it started somewhere in the basement, near the furnace.

Tuesday, Doug Cupples, a distant relative of Matters, became the Lauterbach Buick employee who ended up in charge of taking up a cash collection for the family. He didn't say how much he had collected so far, but he said the amount people donated surprised him.

"My co-workers have been very generous," Cupples said. "It's really warming to see people give so quickly in a time of need."

Cupples said anyone who has furniture, clothing or household items to donate can contact him through Lauterbach Buick and make arrangements. The Salvation Army and AmericInn stepped up to help the family with initial accommodations.

The GoFundMe page raised $355 in less than its first 24 hours of existence. The page can be found here: http://bit.ly/1PECeGn

Cupples said donations are being accepted as well. Jackets and sweaters are not needed as much as girls size 5 and size 10 pants. Kaylee, the couple's autistic child, needs weighted blankets, metal utensils and sensory objects.

Brian Dickey, Noelle's stepfather, lives next door to the property. Noelle came running over to Brian's home and told him the house was on fire, and Dickey ran over to help.

Tyler, Noelle's brother, helped get everyone out safely, including the family dog.

Dickey said if any people would have been in the house a few seconds longer, the flames would have reached them.

"The fire raced across the living room and onto the front porch," Dickey said. "I'd never seen that kind of flash effect in person before."

Newton Fire Chief Jarrod Wellik said his department and crews from Baxter, Kellogg, and Monroe did their best to get to the house quickly, but it wasn't easy, as Monday's snowstorm made roads extremely slippery.

"It appears that the fire originated in the furnace area in the basement of the building and spread through the home, causing extensive damage," Wellik said. "The family was very lucky, as the smoke detectors did not work at the time of the fire."

Wellik said the incident could serve as a reminder to everyone to check their smoke detectors. Cupples also mention that's the first thing he did Tuesday afternoon.

"Failure to check batteries, removal of batteries or disconnection of smoke detectors due to improper location and activation is a leading cause of non-working smoke detectors in homes," Wellik said. "It is important for people to remember that working smoke detectors save lives."

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com