CARIBOU and WOODLAND, Maine – Despite a tragedy that recently displaced them from their home, one Caribou family has realized just how deep their friendships and community ties run throughout Aroostook County.
Kelly Ridenour and her daughters Joanna, 27, and Susanna, 25, were asleep in their home on 186 Old Washburn Road when Joanna heard smoke alarms. She quickly woke up and discovered flames rising from the chimney and up into the home’s attic.
“It got bad very quickly,” Kelly Ridenour said, while remembering the fire. “If we hadn’t had smoke detectors, things could have been a lot different.”
The women had just enough time to grab shoes, coats and their pets – two cats and one dog – before the flames spread to the roof and engulfed the home. Fire crews from Caribou and surrounding towns arrived at 11:43 p.m. and were there until 5:08 a.m. Saturday to save Home Farm Kennels, the Ridenours’ business.
Thomas Ridenour was driving home from Pennsylvania when he received news of the fire. By the time he returned early Saturday morning, the home was deemed a total loss.
But help came quickly. A friend from Woodland’s Amish community, who has relocated to Ohio, is allowing the Ridenours to live in his former home, which is for sale and now equipped with electricity.
When the family arrived at their new home, they only had the clothes they wore. In the days that followed, Amish residents from Woodland, Easton and Smyrna have provided clothing, food, utensils, cooking supplies, gift cards and furniture.
Non-Amish community members and friends have also stepped up to help. As members of a local Russian Orthodox Church, the Ridenours have received donations from fellow church members across Aroostook County and Maine. On the morning of the fire, Red Cross volunteers drove from Frenchville to provide water and toiletries.
“There have been so many rewarding moments from all the love we’ve gotten from friends and people in the community,” Thomas Ridenour said.
For the Ridenours, some of the best gifts have come from new and unexpected friendships.
Nearly one week after the fire, Dave Sullivan of Westfield stopped by with homemade cookies and two Christmas hams. Sullivan had met the family after driving Amish residents from Easton to Woodland to deliver furniture.
Sullivan said that his memories of surviving a home fire years ago motivated him to help the Ridenours get through this difficult time in their lives.
“I lost everything [in the fire], so I know how hard it is to get back on your feet,” Sullivan said. “When you have friends helping you, that’s how you get through it.”
The Ridenours are not yet sure if they will rebuild on their home property in Caribou but are working to reopen their kennel possibly in the next week.
Despite losing family heirlooms and other possessions in the fire, they are most grateful to still be together and for the people who have helped give them a second chance.
“Sometimes it takes a tragedy to show the goodness in peoples’ hearts,” Thomas Ridenour said.
