Starting Over

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Story Published: Sep 20, 2007 at 9:38 PM MST

Story Updated: Nov 7, 2008 at 12:12 PM MST

By Rick Montañez

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The Krueger family lost nearly everything they owned when their home went up in flames on Labor Day weekend. Newswatch 3's Rick Montañez spoke with them about starting over. You wouldn't know it by looking at the outside, but inside this home was nearly destroyed.

Newswatch 3 spoke exclusively to the family when they first saw the damage, so I came back to see exactly how they're putting their lives back together and trying to save their home.

Mari Kreuger: "The smoke was so thick, it was a while before they could actually get into the house."

Investigators first thought the fire was started by a fan in the basement, and Mari Krueger says it might have resulted from water damage after a flood last year. She tells me investigators think excess water may have corroded electrical lines.

She took me on a tour of her damaged home, pointing out all the smoke damage and the obvious gaping hole where the fire started.

Mari Kreuger: "This is probably one of the hardest parts of a fire, for me anyway, you know going through your things and packing up your life, things from when you were a little child and things from when your children were little."

Rick: What's been the most difficult part of this entire situation.
Mari Kreuger: "Watching my children suffer probably, I think that's probably been the hardest is to see them lose so much."

Krueger shows me her sons guitar, the only thing from his bedroom that survived the fire. Then this, where her kids wrote inspirational notes, a reminder that this is their home and they will be back.

Mari Kreuger: "Its brought us closer together brought our whole family closer together."

A restoration company is working on the home, Krueger says it has to be completely gutted to start over new, that could anywhere from 2-6 months. For now they're staying in a rental home and they tell me they're just grateful for the community response to their situation.

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