Carson City family seeks community's help following house fire

A United States Army veteran and his family remain without a home of their own following a May 16 structure fire that destroyed their apartment off Pheasant Drive in Carson City.

Michael Lavelle, his younger brother Alex, 11, and his mother, Danah Cain, have been sleeping on the couches of friends since the devastating fire burned through four residences in the East Carson City apartment complex.

Two juveniles were injured in the blaze.

"I've used up everything I have right now," Lavelle said. "I'm in dire need."

That includes the emergency vouchers his family received from the American Red Cross.

Lavelle, a disabled combat veteran who served in Iraq, was one of the first people responding to calls for help from one juvenile, whose younger brother was trapped inside one of the apartments.

"I was awakened to my neighbor's older son yelling out, 'fire, fire, fire,'" he recalled. "I look up out of my window to immediately see smoke billowing out the second story back window."

Lavelle said he ran outside to help and saw the eldest juvenile yelling that his little brother was still on the second floor of the residence.

"I rushed back into my home to grab a jacket and put on shoes, came back out and ran up the stairs," he remembered. "But I was instantly choked out by the thickness of the smoke. I ran back downstairs to grab a fire extinguisher to fight through the flames and smoke to get around to him."

A cable company worker was also there setting up his ladder to try and access the trapped youth, Lavelle said.

He said the older juvenile had climbed up the ladder to break an upstairs window for his brother.

"But as soon as he did he was hit with a huge smoke plume," Lavelle said.

The fire department arrived at about that time, he said, and went to work rescuing the trapped youth.

"I watched them get into the building and up the ladder," Lavelle said. "After what felt like forever, they finally pulled [him] through the window."

Once the juvenile victim was pulled to safety, Lavelle said his attention then turned to the fire, which had spread through the roof to his residence next door.

"I turned back to witness the further destruction of my home," he said. "As the fire spread through the roof, I watched the firemen quickly get to work putting out the flames. They rushed for what had to be at least another hour cutting the roof and ceilings, dousing the hotspots, and meticulously searching for other dangers."

The fire burned into all four residences of the apartment building, causing damages estimated into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Then there is the human cost.

Both juveniles in the fire were improving from their injuries at last report. The fire, though, displaced three families that morning, Lavelle said, including his own.

"We're still homeless," he said. "We're all sleeping on people's couches right now."

For Lavelle, who is used to giving a helping hand to others, being on the other end of need has been a difficult process for him.

"I like to be the friend that's there for other people," he said. "Now the tables have turned on me."

Lavelle did turn to the Veterans Resource Center in Carson City, which he said is helping his family get a roof over their heads again.

"After talking with me, they are doing some pretty good things to get us into a home," he said.

Lavelle said he is still looking for available housing, but the VRC is serving as his advocate in the process and has secured funds to help with that.

"The next step is finding a place that will take us," he said, "and then get everything lost in the fire replaced."

Lavelle said he expects damage to furnishings and other belongings to be extensive both from the fire and from rain storms that have drenched the area since then.

Lavelle said he seeks to get as much financial assistance as he can with the help of the VRC, but ultimately he is hoping the community will open its heart to his family.

"I never wanted attention about this or to really seek help," he said. "But I can't have my mother and little brother out on the street anymore, sleeping on couches. I want to give them a place to call home."

Lavelle said he has established a GoFundMe account that people can donate to on his family's behalf.

"If anybody can help, all I can say is that I'm grateful for anything," he said. "For those that are willing to help, thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Despite his family's circumstances, Lavelle offers these words of encouragement to others experiencing similar loss.

"For those going through the same thing, keep your head up and try to turn the corner," he said.