Fire victim fights to repair damage one month after blaze

A Des Moines homeowner is struggling with home damage one month after her home caught fire.

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Patty Toth said her neighbor, whose house fire spread to Toths home, didn't have liability insurance. Now Toth must figure out how to fix the damages.

Im a single mom who was laid off a month ago, so I dont have an extra $3,000 lying around to get anything repaired, Toth said. So right now were kind of stuck with a half-burnt house.

The siding on Toths home facing her neighbors house is peeling away and in need of replacement.

Early April 22, Toths neighbors home caught fire and sent three people to the hospital for smoke inhalation and burn treatments. Toth said she was told a lit cigarette on the front porch caused the fire.

Yes, they have a horrible loss and they did spend time in the hospital, and they are a victim of negligence of how the fire was caused, Toth said. But were victims also and theres no help out there for the secondary victim.

The fire did not injure Toth or her son. Because her neighbor does not have liability insurance, Toth said she had to go through her own insurance for repairs. She said the company will cover $5,500 worth of damages and will subtract the 2,500 deductible she cannot afford.

Toth said she cannot find a siding company that will make the repairs for $3,000.

I was going to have some friends come out and help re-side everything and tear everything down, she said. And I was told by the bank that I would have to pay out-of-pocket to do that and then get paid back.

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Fire victim fights to repair damage one month after blaze