Fundraiser to benefit Mineral City family following house fire

Tuesday, Sept. 17 dawned just like any other day. But the day turned out to be anything but ordinary for the Dallas family of Mineral City. An electrical spark started a fire that would completely destroy their home and everything in it.

A fundraiser for the Dallas family will be held at Vaughan’s Pub in Bolivar on Oct. 27 from 1-6 p.m. It is being organized by family friends Tabitha Spaar, Courtney Gunton and Heather Carroll.

Spaar said she has known the family for many years.

“They would definitely give you the shirt off their back,” Spaar said. “And they are so fun-spirited to be around. Our kids grew up together, and my daughter and their youngest daughter are best friends.”

There will be plenty of raffle items, a silent auction, a 50/50 drawing, and a spaghetti dinner including pasta, salad, a dinner roll and dessert. Dinners are $10 each and free for kids under the age of 4. It is not necessary to purchase the dinner to attend the benefit. Live music throughout the afternoon will be provided by Josh McCray, Strange Brew and HairDaze.

There also will be a cornhole tournament that can be played for $20 per team. Team registration will begin at 1:30 p.m. with tournament play starting at 2:30 p.m. The winning team will receive 50% of the money raised by the tournament, with 50% going to the Dallas family.

“The love they have for each other is amazing,” Spaar said of the Dallases, who have been together since junior high. “Thank God Jess was able to get up and out of the house with her multiple sclerosis.”

Those who wish to donate raffle items to the cause or would like additional information can call Spaar at 330-432-9627, Gunton at 330-327-1430 or Carroll at 330-432-7744.

Jessica Dallas said her daughter Keilee had already left for work when the smoke alarm upstairs started screeching.

“I was in my bedroom,” Jessica Dallas said. “I came out and noticed my daughter’s bedroom door was cracked open a little, so I looked in. I saw the flames, and I wondered at first if I could do something to put it out, but by that time, all the light bulbs on my daughter’s vanity were popping. It smelled electrical, so I knew enough to grab my phone and get out.”

The fire was determined to be electrical, having started in an outlet. “I tried to call 911, but the call wouldn’t go through,” Jessica Dallas said. “So I called my husband and told him the house was on fire and to call 911.”

Unfortunately, Josh Dallas was in Wisconsin, where his job as an over-the-road truck driver for ProVia had taken him.

“I tried to call,” he said. “But I was calling 911 in Wisconsin. When I told them I need to call Ohio, they sent the call to Columbus.”

Neighbors and a passerby who saw the fire called 911. Jessica Dallas said she ran to the neighbors to let them know what was happening due to the closeness of their properties.

The response

The first fire alarm brought Mineral City, Bolivar, Magnolia and Fairfield Township fire departments to the scene on North High Street. Mineral City Fire Chief Sam Moore said when he arrived at the fire, he knew they would need more help.

“There are two other houses really close to theirs, so we sent our second alarm,” Moore said. “That brought in East Sparta, New Philadelphia and Dover.”

Seven fire departments got the blaze under control and stopped the fire before it took the whole home.

“They came right away and put it out,” Jessica Dallas said. “But there was too much smoke damage in the other rooms and a lot of water damage, so we’ve lost basically everything.”

The home is insured, but it takes time to receive benefits. It is estimated the family will be displaced from their home for another six to eight months. In the meantime they’ve been staying at a local hotel that allowed them to keep their 5-year-old Australian Shepherd Reecie with them. Those can be hard to find, though, and they don’t offer short-term leases.

A family friend has taken in the Dallases until they can rebuild on the same property.

Gratitude

“A lot of people have helped us out,” Jessica Dallas said. “We want to thank the community for everything they’ve done to reach out. It has been amazing.”

Josh Dallas agreed. “We can’t even begin to thank the community enough,” he said.

The family also is grateful to ProVia for its assistance and The Salvation Army.

The family is grateful for the generosity but said more will be needed before they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. They’ve received many donations of clothing and other items, but they have nowhere to store them. What they need more than anything is cash.

In addition to the benefit at Vaughan’s, a GoFundMe account has been set up for the family and can be found by searching Mineral City fire or Dallas family.

Vaughan’s Pub is located at 10983 state Route 212 in Bolivar.