Tiffany Revelle–Record-Bee staff
LAKEPORT — A Nice man was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital after the vehicle he was driving northbound on Highway 29 caught fire Friday morning.
Norman Lee Keltner, 74, had three kittens and a dog with him in his Dodge motor home as he was headed north just after 9:30 a.m. He pulled off the highway and stopped at the foot of the 11th street exit when he saw smoke coming from the Dodge”s engine compartment.
Kelseyville resident Melinda Crabtree, three cars behind Keltner, stopped to help. “I saw the smoke and said, ?That car”s on fire.”
Being trained in rescue procedure with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) out of St. Helena, Crabtree said the first thing she did was to get Keltner out of the vehicle and make sure there were no other passengers inside.
Visiting Nevada resident Rachel Nordyke placed the 911 call when she and her husband saw the flames. Sue Ricci of Kelseyville, trained as a first responder with the American Red Cross, told responding California Highway Patrol officers that Keltner told her he suffered from emphysema and was having trouble breathing.
Two California Highway Patrol units and two Lakeport Fire units responded to the scene at approximately 9:45 a.m. Officer Craig Van Housen said Keltner was taken by ambulance to Sutter Lakeside as a precautionary measure because of the possibility of smoke inhalation.
Keltner lamented to CHP officers as he sat by the side of the road that he had not grabbed his three kittens when he got out of the motor home. “I should”ve grabbed them,” he said. The kittens are presumed to have died in the blaze, said Ricci.
Ricci said Keltner was reunited with his dog shortly after being released from the hospital, and the Red Cross is putting the two up in a hotel room.
“He told me everything he owned was in there,” said Ricci. She made sure Keltner was connected with the Red Cross to provide clothing and other assistance.
Ricci said they gave him a voucher for clothing and food, and are trying to find a way to replace the cash Keltner lost in the fire and find permanent housing for him. Keltner had apparently been looking for housing.
Ricci said anyone wishing to help should call Laura, office manager at the Red Cross, Tuesday through Friday at 263-8451. Monetary donations should be marked “for disaster in Lake County,” she said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
