Disaster followed quickly by compassion

Cahira Noelani is filled with appreciation following what most people would consider a harrowing experience, a house fire.

“We’re safe, and that’s the most important thing. Everything else is just a bonus,” she said Tuesday. “It’s hard to explain being in this situation and feeling so much love. The community support has been phenomenal. The fire department has been great.

“Despite everything, there’s so much to be thankful for.”

The fire at the house the family is renting at 232 W. Jackson St. was one of three structure fires the Port Washington Fire Department responded to in the last week.

“We got there just at the right time,” Fire Chief Mark Mitchell said of the Jackson Street fire. “It could have turned into something much more serious.”

In addition to the Port department, the Saukville, Grafton, Belgium, Cedarburg and Fredonia departments responded and the Thiensville department stood by at the firehouse.

It began about 11 p.m. Wednesday,  April 22. Noelani — who last year changed her name from Laura Lambrecht — said one of her sons washed his bedding earlier in the day and forgot about it, so he placed it in the dryer in the second-floor laundry room and went to bed.

Later, her son Javan Lambrecht, 18, went downstairs to get a snack and smelled smoke, so he called to her.

“He smelled it before the smoke detector went off,” Noelani said. “I opened my door and I could see and smell it. The detector went off.”

She went to the laundry room across the hall and “the whole dryer door was in flames — big orange flames,” she said. 

Noelani said “her instincts kicked in.” She called 911 as she woke her other three children — sons Payton, 16, and Joah, 15, and daughter Tienna, 12 — grabbed their dogs Jet and Nala and got everyone out the door.

“We got out in 90 seconds,” she said. “I was looking at the phone as we got out.”

It was a good thing they got out fast, she said, noting that when police arrived a short time later they went into the house with extinguishers but came out quickly.

The fire department arrived a short time later and quickly extinguished the blaze.

“We were sitting there watching and  you have a million thoughts in your head,” she said.

The family watched in a daze, she said. 

“It’s a little surreal watching it. You see the flames coming out the window and you think, ‘It’s pretty bad.’ Then you see them cutting a hole in the roof and you think, ‘Oh my,’” Noelani, said.

The firefighters let the family stay in one of their trucks to keep warm, she said, and one firefighter kept coming back to check on Tienna, who was very upset.

“She was really upset because her favorite stuffed animal was still in the house,” Noelani said, describing the beloved animal as a “much loved” one-eyed pink pig named Miss Piggy.

“A little while later, when it was calmer and they were finishing up, these firefighters came out with armfuls of stuffed animals,” Noelani said. “They had Miss Piggy with them, and once they had her, she (Tienna) was calm.

“That was so above and beyond. That was so kind of them.”

While watching the firefighters, Noelani said, she messaged a close friend about the fire. A half-hour later, her friend messaged back to tell her they had booked a room for the family at the Country Inn and Suites for the night.

“Within 30 minutes, I had a place to stay,” Noelani said. “It was so thoughtful — I didn’t have to think about where we were going to sleep.”

That, she said, was just the first of many blessings.

She later texted another friend, Tracy Modjeski, who is a real estate agent, to ask if she knew of a house the family could rent. The next morning, she said, Modjeski had connected her with Scott Nelson, who had a place that he often rents out. 

“By 9 a.m., we had this fully furnished, three-bedroom airbnb to stay in,” she said.

Her friends and other members of the community have also collected clothing, gift cards and groceries for the family, Noelani said. They even started a GoFundMe page that has so far raised roughly $6,500 for the family.

“Pretty much everything we have is burned or smok damaged. A couple of my kids didn’t even have shoes on when we got out,” she said. “It’s just so thoughtful. It makes things so much easier. I’ve been able to focus on what I need to, insurance, restoration, my kids 

“How can I not feel so much love in the midst of all this?”

The fire, she said, went through the second floor and into the attic. There is extensive smoke and some water damage, and officials have estimated it will take six to nine months to restore the house.

“It’s pretty crazy to see what smoke and heat can do,” she  said.

Like many families, she said, they had talked about what to do in case of a fire but “you never think it’s going to happen. It’s just amazing how fast life can change.”

Noelani, a holistic life coach, said she’s focusing on finding peace and perspective as she and her family move forward, adding they are full of gratitude to the firefighters, emergency responders, friends and everyone who has reached out to them.

The Port fire department also responded to a balcony fire at 1883 Parknoll La., at 12:44 p.m. Friday, April 24. Mitchell said a birds nest on an outdoor light fixture ignited from the heat of the light and spread into the vinyl siding.

Damage was limited to the exterior and an attic closet, Mitchell said. 

But because the property is one of 12 units in the Birchwood Hills condominiums, the Saukville, Grafton, Belgium, Cedarburg and Fredonia departments also responded and the Thiensville department stood by at the firehouse.

The most recent fire occurred about 1:15 p.m. Saturday, April 25. Mitchell said firefighters were finishing their birthday parades for local youngsters  when the two firefighters in the ladder truck, which was heading east on Grand Avenue, were flagged down by the homeowner at 916 W. Grand Ave.

He had been using a heat gun to strip paint when the canopy caught fire, Mitchell said. Firefighters quickly knocked down the fire. The department had previously responded to an attic fire at 412 Westport Dr. at 5:31 a.m. Saturday, April 11.

Mitchell said the fire was largely confined to the attic, where loose-fill insulation ignited, smoldered and spread, although it did get into a few walls. The cause is believed to be electrical, he said.