Second fire in one week levels home at Pleasant Point

Less than a week after fire seriously damaged a five-bedroom house on Warrior Road at Pleasant Point, another blaze completely leveled the home. The fires have left the owner, who was about to move into the house after another family had moved out, without a home, and one of the fire chiefs who was at the scene terms the fire of suspicious origin.
The second fire was called in by a neighbor at 2:20 a.m. on Sunday, November 3, and was fully involved when firefighters arrived. Perry Fire Chief Paula Frost relates, "The flames were coming out the back and both ends."
Pleasant Point Fire Chief Alan Sprague, who was not at the scene, says firefighters decided to protect nearby homes and didn't try to knock the fire down. Eastport Fire Chief Richard Clark notes that it would have been too risky to send anyone into the house.
Frost says that several 20-foot spruce trees served as a buffer to help protect nearby houses. "If we'd lost them [the trees], we would have lost a car and another dwelling." Using a deck gun on the Pleasant Point Fire Department's tower truck, they were able to pump 400-500 gallons of water a minute on the trees, and the Perry department also used a deck gun on them. It was a damp morning with no wind, but if conditions had been different a nearby house would have been in greater danger, Frost says.
About 10 firefighters from the Pleasant Point, Perry and Eastport departments were at the scene. Although Perry firefighters cleared out at 6 a.m., Frost says the fire was still burning. "There was no way to put it out," she says. When a fire is that big firefighters cannot put enough water on it to put it out until the fire's burned through enough fuel. Sprague says Pleasant Point firefighters returned later to put water on hot spots.
Clark says the fire is of suspicious origin, since electricity had been turned off and the house had already burned once. "It had rained all evening and it had been out for over a week. It didn't rekindle, that's for sure," he says.
Sgt. Tim York of the State Fire Marshal's Office says that, because of the extent of the damage, the fire is of undetermined origin. "Because they decided not to suppress the fire, it's impossible for us to determine the origin," he says. While the first fire at the home is still under investigation, he says the determination on the second fire will not change.

Arson difficult to prove
Although Clark has called the fire suspicious, proving that an individual set the fire is difficult. Frost says, "Arson is one of the hardest crimes to prove. You need a lot of evidence." A trained dog can indicate that accelerants were used, but then investigators need to link the accelerants to a person. Fire, though, often destroys the evidence. "Unless you have an eyewitness or someone confesses, it's really hard to take to court," she says. "If you don't catch them lighting the fire, you don't have much of a case."
Frost notes that in the 1980s a series of fires in California first burned wooded areas and then some big-box stores. Investigators, though, were not able to prove an arson case until eight people died in a Sam's Club fire and they put enough resources into solving the cases.
When firefighters decided at the Pleasant Point fire that they would only use defensive tactics, they also had decided that there would not be much for the fire marshal investigators to find, since the fire burned up everything.

Nothing left to salvage
The fires occurred just as the occupants had moved out of the house and the owner was about to move in. Debra Yarmal, who owns the home, relates that the house had been owned by Harold Socobasin, who passed away in 1994. His family continued to live there, and Yarmal purchased the house from Harold's son Michael in 2003. She had been in a relationship with Michael for 38 years. She continued to let Harold's widow Elsa Socobasin live in the house, though, for no rent, until she was unable to care for herself. Although Yarmal did not want to do so, since this spring she has been trying to evict Socobasin and Newell Owens, who also was living there. According to Yarmal, under a court-ordered eviction they had to move out by Friday, October 18.
The first fire, which damaged much of the home, took place two days later, on Sunday evening, October 20, and was put out just six hours before Yarmal was to move in.
Yarmal relates that on the Saturday after the first fire she and a couple of her relatives went to the house to salvage what they could, including photographs of the family and former chiefs at Pleasant Point. "We were trying to salvage stuff of Harold's for his son," she says, noting that Michael, who is not living in the area, has lost his family home. She believes the second fire, which occurred that night, was set "so no one will ever get back there again." She feels that the person who set the fire did it so she could not salvage anything more from the home, and she points out that the fires placed both firefighters and neighbors in jeopardy.
"I have no dishes, no furniture, nothing," says Yarmal, who is currently staying with her niece. A Chinese raffle, which will include a car, is being held on December 7 to raise funds for Yarmal. Those who wish to donate to the fundraiser should call Tonia Smith at 904-7287 or Denise Altvater at 214-6383.
Indian Township Chief Joseph Socobasin has helped locate a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer for Yarmal, and she says she will have it placed on the lot and hopes to be able to rebuild a house there.
She adds, "Without the love of my family and friends and the support of the community, I don't think I could make it through this."