Kathy Conn said reports of the death of her nearly century-old home are greatly exaggerated.
The Riverview home in which she and her husband, Dr. Eric Conn, lived suffered extensive fire damage on Oct. 11, but she said rumors the home burned to the ground and the family lost everything are not true.
"We had been able to get out of the house all the things that were important to us," said Conn, a pediatric nurse. "We've had three or four people call crying, worried about the house. Obviously, it means a lot to people."
When she told them how much they were able to salvage, they immediately cheered up, she said.
A small electrical fire at an outlet on the home's front porch earlier in the day of the larger fire apparently produced a spark that traveled up the home's old wiring and ignited the attic, said Conn.
Fire officials believe the fire must have started shortly after she and her husband left for the airport to fly to a meeting in California. Before departure, her husband had called an electrician and another professional, who were on the way over, to check the outside outlet and report their findings to him, she said.
Conn said she is aware not all families are as fortunate as hers after such an incident.
"We ... have good insurance," she said. In addition, she said, Servpro workers, firefighters and friends all worked hard the night of the fire and afterward to remove salvageable items.
"We got a lot out that night," said Conn, whose family had lived in the Edgewood Circle house for 20 years. "People just put them in their cars and took them [temporarily] to their houses."
She said the home's ornamental rugs can be cleaned, its paintings redeemed and much of the furniture -- including built-ins such as mantels and corner cabinets -- restored.
"Some rooms," Conn said, "were not even affected so much."
As bad as the fire was -- "it is the loss of a beautiful home" -- Conn said she made a decision a long time ago not to let anything non-life-threatening bother her.
Since she and her husband were gone, their five children grown or in school, and their dogs rescued, there was nothing life-threatening to them.
"I've stuck to that," Conn said. "I don't know if it's a spiritual thing or what. These [items in the house] are just material things."
If that surprises people, it shouldn't, she said.
"My life has not changed -- at least emotionally and spiritually," Conn said. "Yes, we don't have that house to go to, but I choose to not be upset. We're pretty positive people. We're just not attached to things."
Since the fire, the couple have been able to rent a furnished house in the same neighborhood and are in the midst of making a decision about their old home.
The attic, Conn said, is "pretty much gone. The second floor will have to be demolished. [Contractors] would have to build from the first floor up.
"Our hearts want to do that," she said, "but we have to think about what's best for us. We don't need that big of a house."
When Conn hears from people who grew up in the house or have spent a lot of time there, she feels "we owe it to the house."
"I want to comfort and console them," she said.
Yet, Conn said, "we're uncomplicated people. It was kind of quiet in that big house."
In the meantime, "we're very, very grateful for the firefighters, the police, friends, neighbors," she said. "It really was the most amazing night I've ever had in my life. It was a joyful thing. I saw people I hadn't seen in years. It kept me from being sad."