Family saves Marine son's flag after house fire

From the Gastonia Gazette...
By Adam Linhardt
November 29, 2007 - 1:52PM
Kendra Lowman and her parents arrived home Wednesday after a night of service at First United Methodist Church in Clover and then some shopping to find their house on fire.

“We were pulling into the neighborhood and I said ‘Daddy, what’s with the fog,’” the Western Carolina student said.

Turns out the fog was smoke and it was coming from the family’s front porch and living room.

Neighbors on the 2500 block of Fairgreen Drive noticed the fire and rushed over with hoses to quell flames stemming from an electrical socket used to power their outdoor Christmas lights, said Kendra’s mother, Linda Lowman.

Union Road firefighters had the fire under control in minutes, said Chief Frankie Capps.
The chief estimates the fire did about $15,000 in damage, mostly to the living room and porch, he said.

“Most of it smoke and water damage,” Capps said.

The family may have been gone at the time, but Linda, her husband Ken and Kendra — whose name is a combination of her parents’ names — were worried mainly about two things: their 13-month-old puppy “Zoey” and a special American flag.

Zoey was OK, a little scared from the sirens, but didn’t suffer a scratch.

“I was so worried about the flag,” Linda said.

One of her son’s, Ken Jr., is a Marine — currently a sergeant major — who has been on numerous tours in Iraq. He sent his family a flag that flew over Camp Ramadi in Iraq. The family put the flag in a shadow box along with a picture of Ken and other mementos.

“There’s a little water damage, but I think it’s going to be OK,” Linda said.

“I didn’t want to lose that,” the mother said holding the flag.

“He’s in Maryland now and wants to go to Afghanistan,” she said. “Says they have him behind a desk and he’s getting bored.”

Crushed holiday lights and other Christmas decorations adorned the front lawn and the porch where firefighters gutted the window area to squelch the fire before it got into the attic.

“This street looks like a little McAdenville at night,” Linda said.

The family has insurance, Ken said.

“Everybody including Zoey is OK,” the father said. “So we’re pretty lucky.”

“And lucky to have such neighbors,” Linda said. “The firemen said it could have been much worse.”