Fire Strikes Twice For Evansville Family
By: Lindsay Merwin
Updated: October 15, 2012
In March, fire damaged George Cundiff and Margaret Fuquay's East Illinois Street home...a mystery they say investigators still haven't solved.
Now, as the family is trying to recover from that fire...another setback hits.
Every time George Cundiff and Margaret Fuquay come home, they get a warm greeting from their dogs.
But this house is not a home anymore.
It hasn't been since Saturday afternoon, when fire suddenly swept through the house...and Fuquay rushed home to something she hoped she'd never see again.
"I was in shock," Fuquay says. "I mean I'm still in shock. Second time having a house fire. All I could think of was where was my fiance? Where were my animals?"
Cundiff says he was in the backyard when the flames flared up.
Now what's left in the yard are boards from the roof he had just replaced...as the family is forced to rebuild...a second time.
"I wish nobody had to go through it. And for us to go through it twice is probably one of the hardest things in life," Cundiff says.
"I mean we just started getting back on our feet," Fuquay says. "You know, for six months, we just got back on our feet. And now we lost everything."
What they do have left are their children, their dogs...and virtually the clothes on their backs.
Bottom line: they're back where they started.
"So many people was donating stuff to us and now we're pretty much homeless. And it's sad," Fuquay says.
Their challenge now will be finding a permanent place to stay.
A place to rebuild...and feel at home again.
***
The City-County Building Commissioner says there's significant damage to the house...and it's likely it will be torn down.
Fire investigators haven't confirmed the cause, but we're told it could be an electrical issue.
Meanwhile, the couple will be staying with family as they search for a new home.
A fund has been set up under the "Cundiff Family Relief Fund" at Heritage Federal Credit Union in Evansville.


