Some of the best parts of Devan Howe-Kizzar’s life are flammable.
The books, blankets, teddy bears and clothes. Baby photos and birth certificates. Dressers and bed frames. Purses and wallets. Money, car keys, her daughter’s birthday present – all reduced to a sprawling wave of blackened ash, with the occasional jagged edge from a piece of furniture. And a charred dream car named Marsha in the front yard (now called Marshmallow).
Sifting through the rubble one afternoon in December, it’s apparent the fire was hot, fast and furious. The blaze, reeking of gasoline, burned not only her home at 111 E. Sinto Ave., but the one next door. Anything not touched by flames was ravaged by smoke.
“This was the living room,” the 41-year-old mother said, standing where her dining room table should be.