FIRE DESTROYS TWO HOMES AND A CABIN AT JOHNSON LAKE

Post date: Jun 21, 2013 6:17:9 PM

By HARRY G. PERKINS, Hub Regional Correspondent | Posted: Friday, June 21, 2013 10:34 am http://www.kearneyHUB.com

JOHNSON LAKE — Two permanent homes and a cabin in Johnson Lake were destroyed by fire that began at about 5 a.m. Friday.

The fire is believed to have begun in the garage of Jim and Phyllis Byrns in the Kirby Point neighborhood on the east side of the lake. Jim Byrns said he did not know the cause of the fire. The hulks of two vehicles were visible inside what used to be the garage.

Elwood, Lexington and Cozad volunteer fire departments fought the fire using an array of pumpers, tankers and a rescue air-trailer. Johnson Lake EMS was also at the scene. Strong southerly winds made control of the fire extremely difficult, causing it to spread from the Bryns’s home south where it wiped out the cabin of Gordon Svoboda of Grand Island and north where it ate into the two-story home of Brian and Dana Tonniges in the Kirby Point neighborhood.

The Tonniges home was still standing at 9 a.m., but severe fire damage to the south side and the remainder of the building convinced Brian Tonniges that the building was probably beyond salvaging. The Tonnigeses were unable to rescue anything but themselves and two family cats.

“I heard a noise that sounded like a gun, and then another one. I looked at the clock. It said 5:18, and firemen were already arriving,” Tonniges said.

Dana Tonniges had gone downstairs, her husband said. “We got out with our lives. I ran back in to get my billfold and my computer and that was all got,” he said. “The noise I heard was windows breaking from the heat of the fire. I looked out and could see light from the fire.” Tonniges travels as a salesman for a Boyten, Iowa, manufacturing firm. He said he is normally not home on Thursday, but felt fortunate that he was home last night.

“It’s going to be tough for a while, but we’ll make it,” he said. Firefighters were still trying to put the fire in the Tonniges home at 9:30 a.m. and expect to be there much of the day.

For the Byrns family, it’s only the latest in a string of misfortunes. Jim Byrns had open-heart surgery five years ago. Phyllis Byrns underwent hip surgery not long ago. They have been longtime residents of Johnson Lake. Jim Byrns said they acquired their lot on a point of land that juts out from the east shore of Johnson Lake in 1945. “We built a cabin in 1958 and a permanent home in 1978,” he said, adding that he did much of the work himself.

Between the three towns, more than 30 firefighters responded. On the way to the fire, two firefighters from Lexington were involved in a minor accident. Their fire truck swerved to avoid an accident at the intersection of Cattleman Drive and Plum Creek Parkway and tipped over. The two firefighters were taken to the Lexington Regional Health Care Center for observation. They were not seriously hurt, according to Bo Berry, assistant Lexington fire chief.

L Large Picture courtesy of Harry Perkins; smaller pictures by LarryO; click below to open if not opening!!

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This photo Courtesy of Ann Johnson: Bottom photo Courtesy of Harry Perkins: