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Kyle Daniell looks out at the frozen Rifle Creek Golf Course early Tuesday morning. Less than 300 feet to his right, across the parking lot and across State Highway 325, lay what remains of his house which was destroyed by fire Friday.
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Fire consumes the house across the street from Rifle Creek Golf Course. The house was occupied by Kyle Daniell and Wes Cherry. Luckily, neither were at home when the fire started.
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Kyle Daniell still managed to coach the Rifle High School C-team boys basketball game Friday night despite his entire house going up in flames just a few hours earlier.
He needed something to keep his mind off of the fact that he'd just lost everything.
“It will always be in the back of my mind,” Daniell said Tuesday morning.
But he needed something to occupy his mind and he'd made a commitment to the team. He didn't even have his coaching shirt, or a change of pants. All his clothes were burned.
He still went. He still coached.
It could be said that Daniell needed to be there for the kids. He's their coach. But considering the circumstances, the kids were there for him, he says.
“Being with the team and being with the kids, it helped me not think about it,” Daniell said.
***
Daniell, 26, left his house, which happens to be right across the street from the Rifle Creek Golf Course where he is the head golfing professional, around 3 p.m. that afternoon to get a haircut prior to the basketball game. His roommate, Wes Cherry, was also not at the house when the fire started, so luckily no one was home.
According to the Rifle Fire Protection District's spokeswoman Maria Piņa, fire crews were notified at 3:17 p.m. Friday, of the fire. Rifle Fire Protection District responded with 13 firefighters and equipment while Burning Mountains Fire Protection District responded with two pieces of support equipment and personnel.
The residence was a double wide trailer home located on a property with another home. The fire was contained to the one structure and no other structures were threatened. However, Daniell's house is a total loss.
Rifle Fire Marshal Kevin Whelan said that he and other investigators would return to the scene this week to determine a cause.
According to Whelan, “This fire grew excessively rapidly.”
He said that within 10-15 minutes the house was half engulfed by fire before the fire crews were even on-site.
Whelan used the fire at Kyle's house to stress the importance of a fire suppression system such as fire sprinklers in residential homes. Sprinklers can help contain a fire to one room, he said, and can help reduce the damage to a home.
“It may have been a different story if it were a house with sprinklers,” Whelan said.
Whelan said that crews were on the scene for hours until the fire was finally out.
***
Standing in front of the place he called home as it burned, the gravity of the situation was too much to handle. Fire engines racing. Fire crews spraying water on the burning structure. Emergency lights flashing.
“I couldn't watch,” he said.
He realized that he needed to keep moving forward, not let this ruin his life. He wasn't going to let it ruin his day. He still had a basketball game to coach and he'd be damned if he was going to miss it. Along with being the head golf pro at the course, he is also the head coach for the Rifle High School boys basketball C-team, and the assistant coach for the boys Junior Varsity and Varsity teams as well.
“It wasn't too bad. It took my mind off of it,” he said about being at the game. “I don't want to dwell on it.”
Daniell has lived in the house off and on for the past four years, wintering in Arizona and living during the summer in Rifle working at the course. This was his first season as the head professional at the course.
“After I saw (the house on fire) I realized it could have been a lot worse,” he said.
Soon afterword, his cell phone began ringing with calls and text messages. Over the next hour and a half he'd received 26 voicemails and about the same number of text messages.
“As soon as the phone calls started coming in I knew it was going to be OK,” he said.
The only thing to do at that point was to go to the basketball game.
***
Several friends of Daniell took immediate action. Rifle resident Mark Fergen was nearby and saw the fire as it was happening. Fergen knows Daniell pretty well and immediately wanted to help.
“He's a down-right good guy,” Fergen said. “It's terrible that it had to happen to him.”
Fergen turned to facebook and posted a comment about Daniell's predicament, and asked for donations. Soon, he started getting responses.
“I'm just thankful that everyone pulls together in this community when people are in need,” Fergen said.
Fergen, who also owns Mountain Air Mechanical in Rifle has opened his business as a collection spot for donations of furniture, clothes, household utensils such as dishes and anything else. Donations can be dropped off at Mountain Air Mechanical located at 601 West Second Street in Rifle.
Jay Rickstrew, President of Alpine Bank in Rifle, coaches basketball with Daniell. Rickstrew heard about the fire quickly and opened an account for donations in Daniell's name. An account has been established at Alpine Bank for Kyle Daniell, for those willing to contribute.
“I would expect there is plenty of support for Kyle,” Rickstrew said. “He's a really good guy.”
***
“It's all been a blur,” Daniell said Tuesday morning sitting in a small conference room at the Rifle Fire Station No. 1.
He'd had time to accept his loss. He'd grasped the fact that everything he owned, including his golf clubs, was gone.
“But everything we lost is replaceable,” he said.
Two things made it through the fire, slightly charred, included a mount of a buck that he'd hunted in 2010. Besides the antlers being a little burned and the smell of smoke, “It made it,” he said.
The other thing was a coaching whistle that Daniell received from his father as a Christmas gift this past holiday. It was an old coaching whistle used by his grandfather who passed away when Daniell was 15 years old.
The fire may have taken most of his earthly possessions, but Daniell learned something about himself and his community Friday. He learned that he is part of this community and the importance of having friends.
“I'd just like to thank the community for all its support,” Daniell said. “It's just means more than I can say.”
He needed something to keep his mind off of the fact that he'd just lost everything.
“It will always be in the back of my mind,” Daniell said Tuesday morning.
But he needed something to occupy his mind and he'd made a commitment to the team. He didn't even have his coaching shirt, or a change of pants. All his clothes were burned.
He still went. He still coached.
It could be said that Daniell needed to be there for the kids. He's their coach. But considering the circumstances, the kids were there for him, he says.
“Being with the team and being with the kids, it helped me not think about it,” Daniell said.
***
Daniell, 26, left his house, which happens to be right across the street from the Rifle Creek Golf Course where he is the head golfing professional, around 3 p.m. that afternoon to get a haircut prior to the basketball game. His roommate, Wes Cherry, was also not at the house when the fire started, so luckily no one was home.
According to the Rifle Fire Protection District's spokeswoman Maria Piņa, fire crews were notified at 3:17 p.m. Friday, of the fire. Rifle Fire Protection District responded with 13 firefighters and equipment while Burning Mountains Fire Protection District responded with two pieces of support equipment and personnel.
The residence was a double wide trailer home located on a property with another home. The fire was contained to the one structure and no other structures were threatened. However, Daniell's house is a total loss.
Rifle Fire Marshal Kevin Whelan said that he and other investigators would return to the scene this week to determine a cause.
According to Whelan, “This fire grew excessively rapidly.”
He said that within 10-15 minutes the house was half engulfed by fire before the fire crews were even on-site.
Whelan used the fire at Kyle's house to stress the importance of a fire suppression system such as fire sprinklers in residential homes. Sprinklers can help contain a fire to one room, he said, and can help reduce the damage to a home.
“It may have been a different story if it were a house with sprinklers,” Whelan said.
Whelan said that crews were on the scene for hours until the fire was finally out.
***
Standing in front of the place he called home as it burned, the gravity of the situation was too much to handle. Fire engines racing. Fire crews spraying water on the burning structure. Emergency lights flashing.
“I couldn't watch,” he said.
He realized that he needed to keep moving forward, not let this ruin his life. He wasn't going to let it ruin his day. He still had a basketball game to coach and he'd be damned if he was going to miss it. Along with being the head golf pro at the course, he is also the head coach for the Rifle High School boys basketball C-team, and the assistant coach for the boys Junior Varsity and Varsity teams as well.
“It wasn't too bad. It took my mind off of it,” he said about being at the game. “I don't want to dwell on it.”
Daniell has lived in the house off and on for the past four years, wintering in Arizona and living during the summer in Rifle working at the course. This was his first season as the head professional at the course.
“After I saw (the house on fire) I realized it could have been a lot worse,” he said.
Soon afterword, his cell phone began ringing with calls and text messages. Over the next hour and a half he'd received 26 voicemails and about the same number of text messages.
“As soon as the phone calls started coming in I knew it was going to be OK,” he said.
The only thing to do at that point was to go to the basketball game.
***
Several friends of Daniell took immediate action. Rifle resident Mark Fergen was nearby and saw the fire as it was happening. Fergen knows Daniell pretty well and immediately wanted to help.
“He's a down-right good guy,” Fergen said. “It's terrible that it had to happen to him.”
Fergen turned to facebook and posted a comment about Daniell's predicament, and asked for donations. Soon, he started getting responses.
“I'm just thankful that everyone pulls together in this community when people are in need,” Fergen said.
Fergen, who also owns Mountain Air Mechanical in Rifle has opened his business as a collection spot for donations of furniture, clothes, household utensils such as dishes and anything else. Donations can be dropped off at Mountain Air Mechanical located at 601 West Second Street in Rifle.
Jay Rickstrew, President of Alpine Bank in Rifle, coaches basketball with Daniell. Rickstrew heard about the fire quickly and opened an account for donations in Daniell's name. An account has been established at Alpine Bank for Kyle Daniell, for those willing to contribute.
“I would expect there is plenty of support for Kyle,” Rickstrew said. “He's a really good guy.”
***
“It's all been a blur,” Daniell said Tuesday morning sitting in a small conference room at the Rifle Fire Station No. 1.
He'd had time to accept his loss. He'd grasped the fact that everything he owned, including his golf clubs, was gone.
“But everything we lost is replaceable,” he said.
Two things made it through the fire, slightly charred, included a mount of a buck that he'd hunted in 2010. Besides the antlers being a little burned and the smell of smoke, “It made it,” he said.
The other thing was a coaching whistle that Daniell received from his father as a Christmas gift this past holiday. It was an old coaching whistle used by his grandfather who passed away when Daniell was 15 years old.
The fire may have taken most of his earthly possessions, but Daniell learned something about himself and his community Friday. He learned that he is part of this community and the importance of having friends.
“I'd just like to thank the community for all its support,” Daniell said. “It's just means more than I can say.”
