Rebuilding lives, damaged by the Burnsville fire

Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribune

Britani Danz, left, Tana Danz, center, and Matt Oster, right, sat on an inflatable mattress in a bare living room at their new home in Burnsville. The three of them lost everything in a fire at the Burncliff Apartments before Christmas.

Donations have helped, but some things lost in the Burncliff Apartments fire can never be replaced.

By KATIE HUMPHREY, Star Tribune

Last update: January 7, 2009 - 12:10 PM

For now, air mattresses will have to do.

A friend will be bringing a sofa over soon. And a relative has pledged a queen-size bed.

Tana Danz, her daughter, Britani Danz, and Britani's boyfriend, Matt Oster, just needed something comfortable to last until then.

The three are among the nearly 200 people who lost their homes and belongings in the Burncliff Apartments fire just days before Christmas. They're putting their lives back together, slowly, with help from the community and their share of an anonymous $1 million donation.

"Every day gets easier -- less tears, more smiles," Tana Danz, 40, said. "Our sense of humor is coming back."

They even invited friends and family to celebrate New Year's Eve at their new two-bedroom home at the Summit Park apartments just a short walk away. Lacking a table, though, they asked guests to place drinks on the floor along the wall so they wouldn't spill.

But it has been a tiring and stressful holiday season.

"It's just drained me," Oster, 19, said.

He had lived at Burncliff for four years and works as a caretaker for the property. His mom lived downstairs on the first floor. Britani Danz, 19, moved in with him in the fall. Their names were on the lease of a third-floor apartment.

Tana Danz's wasn't.

She had moved her belongings into her daughter's apartment days before the fire. It was close to SuperAmerica, where she works, and she was about to sign a lease on her own third-floor apartment when the fire broke out. Her things burned along with her daughter's.

None of them had renter's insurance.

"But we have it now," Danz said. "I don't think I'll live without it again."

They are replacing things slowly, but it feels like "nonstop running to get things done," Oster said.

He said the money from the anonymous donor provided relief, but they want to save it until they see what they ultimately need.

So many needs

Their purses and wallets burned, so there were drivers' licenses to apply for, credit cards to cancel and duplicate documents to track down.

When Oster got the flu, they needed aspirin. Tana Danz picked up spices at a dollar store. Britani Danz has scoured eBay in search of replacements for collectible Christmas ornaments. They went to Ikea and found it a bit overwhelming, though they might order from a store catalog.

The generosity of the community was overwhelming, though, and got them through the days after the fire.

"A lot of people just heard about it and called us," Britani Danz said.

Friends and family offered food, shelter and furniture. They picked up donated clothes and supplies at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.

"We just couldn't believe it," Tana Danz said, adding that the family plans to pay it forward to help others.

Memories are all that's left

But some things can never be replaced: baby books, jewelry, home movies of relatives who have died, Britani Danz's drawings. Their two cats, Beamer and Oscar, are still missing.

"It's just the memories of what I have in my head," Tana Danz said, wiping tears from her eyes.

They have a one-year lease on the new apartment and hope to move back to Burncliff when the owners rebuild.

Britani Danz will be starting school this month, studying to be a veterinary technician. Tana Danz and Oster are both back at work, within view of their charred former home.

It's hard to see that every day, they said, but also helpful because it keeps them connected to former residents who stop by.

"We're all alive, and we all made it, and nobody died in the fire," Tana Danz said. "So that's a blessing right there."

Katie Humphrey • 952-882-9056

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