TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

On the evening of Nov. 25, our motor home caught fire. At this point we are not sure if it is a write-off, but that really isn't relevant to this tale. This is a story about the kindness of many Bakersfield good Samaritans and their willingness to help and even risk life and limb for complete strangers.

My wife, Sue, and I and our little dog, Joey, are full-time RVers and although we hail from Victoria, British Columbia, where I retired after 33 years in the Canadian Navy, our motor home is our home.

We arrived in Bakersfield and parked in the Rosedale Highway Wal-Mart parking lot around 5 p.m., planning to do a little shopping, dine and rest for the night. We had just received our dinner at the Original Roadhouse Grill when our server informed us of the fire.

As I ran from the restaurant, my only thought was of Joey, whom we'd left in the motor home. I found him in the arms of his rescuer, Barbara Trammel, a 19-year-old gal from Bakersfield who had taken it upon herself to save Joey. Using a borrowed tire iron, she broke the front door window to gain access.

According to eyewitnesses, as soon as she broke the glass, smoke poured out -- and despite this, she crawled through a 10-inch wide opening, grabbed Joey, passed him to others and then crawled back out the way she went in.

This single selfless act would in itself have been more than I could ever expect of anyone, but this is not the end of the story. As I said earlier, our RV was our home. We do not have a regular house to fall back on, so to say we were devastated would be putting it mildly.

Thoughts of where to stay with a dog, insurance claims, storage of personal belongings, etc., only added to our stress.

While standing there watching our retirement plans go up in smoke, Tony and Laurie Marion, who run Stockdale Tile, left their meal at the Roadhouse and through the next four hours stood alongside us to offer encouragement and reassure us that we weren't alone in this.

Tony and Laurie have literally rescued us. With their help and that of their friend Jerry McGill and the staff at Golden Empire Towing, we have now removed our personal belongings from the motor home and stored them in one of the Marions' warehouses. As if this weren't enough, the Marions have loaned us their beautiful motor home while we're waiting on our insurance.

There are no words that can express how grateful we are. I am humbled.

I would be remiss if I didn't commend the professionalism of Kern County Fire Capt. Gus Bryant and his Station 65 crew, as well as the generosity of the Roadhouse Grill. Thank you for all you have done.

Once the insurance issues are settled, we'll be off to purchase another used motor home of the same, somewhat unusual type. But we'll always remember this city. Readers need to know how much my wife and I appreciate what these Bakersfield citizens have done for us. If this had to happen, I'm glad it happened here.