Stryker family displaced after New Year's fire

A family in Stryker lost all of their personal possessions after a fire destroyed their home on New Year’s Eve. Jim and Amanda Pohl, and nine of their children escaped the blaze uninjured, but they are left trying to peice their lives together.

“I never ever thought I’d see the day that I’d lose my home and all of my belongings,” Jim says during a video tour of the burned home he posted on YouTube. The video shows blackened walls, the reminants of a toasted kitchen and water still dripping from charred beams in the ceiling.

The fire reportedly started early in the morning in the basement. Jim awoke at 2 a.m. and found the home filled with smoke. Amanda and the nine kids escaped wearing their pajamas and went to a neighbor’s house to call 911.

Fire crews from Eureka, Trego and Olney responded to the blaze.

Jim, 33, was able to retreive his guns, while Amanda, 34, grabbed a family keepsake book. Everything else was totally destroyed.

The family has temporarily moved into an unoccupied house that Jim was working on for a customer in Eureka until they can find another place to stay.

Since the blaze, friends have stepped up to assit the family with clothing and food. A dontation page has been set up on Facebook and a recovery fund established at Glacier Bank in Eureka.

“Donations just started pouring in,” Jim told the Daily Inter Lake, calling the support “humbling and overwhelming.” Donations have been coming from all over the Flathead and Tobacco valleys, and even from out of state.

The family is currently looking for a minimum three-bedroom home with land for horses and a dog. They’re also in need of furniture, toys and clothes.

More information about how to help the Pohl family can be found online at The Pohl Family Fire Fund on Facebook. People also can call family friend Diana Park at 407-6591.