Fire captain’s house in Dayton destroyed by fire

Saturday, Aug. 13, 2005 | 10:55 a.m.

DAYTON, Nev. - A fire captain and his family are homeless after a fire destroyed their Dayton house, authorities said.

Douglas County firefighter Nicholas Agorastos was at work early Friday when the fire swept through his new, 2,000-square-foot house about 12 miles east of Carson City. The family had lived there less than a year.

"I've been doing this for almost 25 years. This is a total eye-opener being on the other end," Agorastos told the Nevada Appeal. "We deal with just the fire and we don't usually see this part. It's amazing."

A firefighter who lives across the street helped Agorastos' wife, Christy, and 6-year-old daughter, Hayleigh, escape after flames prevented them from leaving through the front door, officials said.

Two other young daughters and a son were away at the time.

Flames were already shooting through the roof of the single-story house in the Riverpark subdivision by the time crews arrived, Lyon County Fire Chief Mark Darragh said.

"The structure was a complete loss, including contents," Darragh said.

The cause of the 12:13 a.m. blaze is under investigation.

East Fork Fire Chief Tod Carlini, Nicholas Agorastos' boss, said his department and other fire companies are gathering donations for the family.

"I was out there this morning. It was sad," Carlini said Friday. "This shows we are just like everyone else. We are not immune to any of that."

Nicholas Agorastos said the Red Cross has provided his family a motel room for a few days. His insurance company is working to get them into a rental home.

"We'll be out of the house for six months at least," he said. "We're going to try to rebuild in the same spot. We've got some great neighbors."

The family had just poured concrete for a patio and was preparing to put up new blinds in the home.

"This was his first new home; he was quite proud of it," Carlini said. "That's a benchmark in everyone's life."

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Information from: Nevada Appeal, http://www.nevadaappeal.com