ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 28, 1996 TAG: 9612300064
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
Donna Graves' son was just 5 in December 1994 when he watched firefighters douse the remaining flames that destroyed his Snowville home.
Graves said two years have not erased her son's memory of the fire's destruction.
"He still says he misses the house and his toys," Graves said from her new home - a used trailer purchased from a relative.
It took about eight months for Graves, her husband and their two children to get back on their feet after the fire. Graves said everyone in the community tried to pitch in. Gifts of clothes and Christmas presents for the children meant a great deal during that time.
"It wasn't like a normal Christmas, but everyone pretty much helped out," Graves said.
Graves said her son - who was pulled out of kindergarten because of the upheaval - never received counseling.
"He probably could have used it, though," she said.
Counseling children and their parents after fires, and educating them beforehand, is a passion for one Virginia Tech psychology professor who is working to expand research in an area he says is all but ignored.
Russell T. Jones plans to use a $1.2 million grant awarded to his project by the National Institute for Mental Health in June to find out what helps families recover emotionally from fires.
"We have yet to systematically document the effect of disaster on children," Jones said. Although some research has been done after hurricanes and floods, the data on residential fires is scant. he emphasized. Although adults will be included in the research, children are the primary target of Jones' study.
Jones, an associate professor of psychology, has been studying fire and its effects for years. His interest was sparked by a 1976 internship while he was attending Brown University in Providence, R.I.
During that internship, he taught children enrolled in a Head Start class what to do in case of fire. More than just a passion for children and disaster research was ignited by that class, Jones said. The teacher became his wife and remains so 16 wonderful years later, he said.
Jones and Thomas H. Ollendick, Virginia Tech professor of psychology, are leading two teams of researchers - one from Tech and one from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond - that will interview families after fire destroys at least 25 percent of their home. The families will include ones from the New River Valley as well as the Roanoke Valley and Richmond.
Ollendick said he has 25 years experience researching children and their abilities to cope with anxiety and depression. This project will offer data about an area in which psychologists have little information, Ollendick said.
"We don't know what the typical response will be," he said. "We hope after we get a better picture of the tragedy's effects we can develop better treatments."
The criteria for who can participate is fairly narrow: families with one or two parents in the household and at least one child between the age of 8 and 18. Other criteria are also specified, such as a requirement that firefighters have to have been at the scene of the fire for at least 30 minutes.
The ultimate goal is to interview 150 families involved in residential fires and 150 other families that somewhat match the demographics of the victim families. Families will receive $75 for each interview, Jones said.
Interviews will be done as soon after the fire as possible and at regular intervals for months and possibly years after the fact.
"We need to learn more about how they function, how they respond," Jones said.
In the end, Jones said he wants to be able to teach families how to cope with the disaster and deal with the inherent loss.
Finding families to participate will not be difficult, Jones said, for two reasons:
*Research indicates talking about difficult things can be helpful;
*The research team will be able to determine each family's psychological adjustment to the fire, information the family would want.
The project is indicative of Jones' background as a clinical psychologist who specializes in both clinical child psychology and community psychology.
The grant is enough to fund the project for four years, said Jones, but he hopes eventually to extend the life of the project to more than 10 years.
For more information about the research project or to participate, call the NIMH Funded Residential Fire Project at (540) 231-2545. The line is answered 24 hours a day.
What Jones expects to discover:
When Russell Jones is asked what he expects to discover in his study of house fires, the Virginia Tech professor said other research suggests several trends about how people cope with major disasters:
*Age is a factor in how a person copes; younger children bounce back quicker than older ones; adolescents somewhat mirror adult reactions;
*Similar to the old cliche that "Time heals all wounds," the victims' distress will likely diminish over time;
*The family's cohesiveness and the parents' ability to cope will be reflected in the children's ability to handle the stress. Close families with relatively level-headed parents will fare best;
*Girls, generally speaking, will show more outward signs of distress after a fire and talk about it more;
*Reflecting another cliche that says "That which does not kill me will make me stronger," some studies suggest people who have survived previous disasters are better able to handle subsequent ones.
How to survive a home fire:
1. Install a smoke detector on every level of your home, near bedrooms and in the garage area away from air vents. Test the batteries monthly and replace them at least once a year.
2. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and know how to use it.
3. Plan and practice a fire escape route from every room. Always have two ways out.
4. Teach children not to hide from firefighters.
5. Identify a place outside for everyone to meet in case of a fire.
6. Know how to call for emergency assistance. Remember 911.
7. When leaving a house that is on fire, crawl low, on your hands and knees, under the smoke.
8. Feel closed doors with the back of your hand. If hot, use another exit. If not hot, open the door slowly and check for smoke and fire.
9. Install fire extinguishers on each floor.
10. Purchase a fire extinguisher from a dealer who specializes in fire extinguishers. Only buy extinguishers with metal heads that can be recharged.
For more information about how to keep you and your family safe from fire, contact the Blacksburg Fire Department at 961-1175 or e-mail at bvfd@bev.net. Or contact the fire department that covers your area.
- Blacksburg Fire Department
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Jonesby CNB