Fire guts home; community jumps in to help owner

DOUGLAS - Long known as a kind kindergarten teacher at Douglas Primary School, a willing volunteer and a board member for nonprofits, Carolyn Holt Green has suffered her share of misfortunes in the 54 years she's lived here.

But the Dec. 10 blaze that consumed her Douglas home and most of her belongings is among the worst. And the best.

The community has been rallying around the 76-year-old retired kindergarten teacher since the fire, starting with a simple post from a friend that asked for help for her. The response has been overwhelming, Holt Green said with an upbeat tone, her positive outlook on life coming through even in the face of tragedy.

Converse County Connections Director DeAnna Bradshaw Brow began the community response by asking for monetary donations the day after the fire. An account was set up at Converse County Bank to handle the donations, and the cash started pouring in.

But, Holt Green said, the emotional support was even more overwhelming because she never asked for monetary or any other help - it just came in waves.

"The community response is pretty overwhelming but it's great. It's a great town," Holt Green said just days into the emotional journey that left her and her partner, Douglas native Robert Parks, devastated – not just by the loss of her longtime home, their new appliances (which they bought this fall) and all of their clothes, but nearly all of the possessions that spurred memories of her life here.

While the loss of her home at 1243 Frontier Drive – where she's lived for 47 years – is crushing, Holt Green said the community support has been amazing.

"Oh my gosh, we cannot go anywhere in this town where someone doesn't know what happened," she said, noting friends, local businesses and even strangers have offered help – from kind words to paying for their meal at a restaurant.

For instance, Holt Green said she and Parks had to replace all their medicines almost immediately. The pharmacy told her it was handled.

"Almost any business I go in, they say, 'Don't worry about it, we'll take care of it,'" she said. "People are willing and want to help. We're not asking for money, but we have to go out and buy new clothes . . . pretty much our whole wardrobes of clothes, hats and coats and things, they're gone - up in smoke, so to speak."

The fire

The fire began in the garage, and while the process of combing through the rubble continues this week, Holt Green and Parks are pretty sure what happened. A battery was charging in the garage when they "heard a pop, almost like an explosion," she said.

Parks rushed to douse the still small fire with water and thought he had it handled. (DVFD Chief Rick Andrews confirmed the likely source was a battery exploding.)

While Parks was trying to get the fire out in the garage, Holt Green had called 911 and a police officer arrived with a fire extinguisher to make sure. When he opened the garage door, the added oxygen gave life to the still small fire and it roared to life, she recalled.

"The guardian angels were out there looking over us," she said. "It was very fast and very scary."

The officer and, by then, Douglas Volunteer Fire Department personnel who had just arrived hollered for them to get out fast. They ushered two dogs and a cat out the door and, with only the clothes on their backs, got out of the house as the blaze started chewing up room after room.

The dogs, one of which they had been sitting for a friend, are good, Holt Green reported, but the cat hasn't been seen since so she isn't sure of its fate.

By some twist of fate, she said, she had closed two interior doors on her way out. The rooms weren't entirely spared, but some of the items in them may be salvageable in a home considered 75-80% gone – a guess that she and Andrews share today, pending final determinations.

The fire spread quickly, getting into the ceiling and threatening neighbor's houses.

Holt Green and Parks praised DPD and DVFD personnel for their fast response and professionalism in making sure the fire didn't spread to other homes, even as they watched their home and belongings turned to rubble.

"It looks like a war zone. Hardly anything is recognizable," she said.

An independent analyst hired by the State Fire Marshal's office will be in Douglas this week to sort through the debris and provide a report.

Meanwhile, the couple is staying with friends and may have found a house to rent, but insurance will have a say in that, too, she said.

Holt Green's history

A kindergarten teacher in Douglas for 28 years, Holt Green touched many lives, but even in retirement she continued with her passion.

She volunteered for 10 years at a local preschool, teaching math and science skills to young learners.

"It was like doing kitchen science," she recalled.

Perhaps she is best known today for her local activism, from serving on the Laramie Peak Humane Society board for the last 17 years and being an eager volunteer.