HELP FROM PARAMEDICS—Joan Janedis suffers from smoke inhalation during a fire last week at her Oak Park home. WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers A fire ravaged an Oak Park home on Sept. 8, destroying furniture, appliances, clothing and other contents, but, with the help of firefighters, treasured family photographs were spared.

The fire broke out in the Janedis residence on Tamarind Street around 4 p.m. last Thursday.

David Townley, an Oak Park resident for 15 years, called 911 after he turned his car onto Tamarind Street from Kanan Road and saw smoke pouring out of the garage.

Joan Janedis, 75, first smelled smoke and then saw flames billowing out of her garage. Seeking safety across the street, she watched her house and two cars go up in flames.

What struck her the hardest was the thought of losing the family photos she and her husband, Stan Janedis, had collected in the 44 years they’ve lived in Oak Park.

CONSUMED BY FLAMES—Firefighters extinguish a blaze that started in the garage of a home on Tamarind Street in Oak Park. STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO /Acorn Newspapers Framed photographs of the couple’s five children, grandchildren and other family members lined the walls in the house, filled books and stirred memories with every glance.

Her husband, 77, said firefi ghters from Oak Park station No. 36 saved many of the pictures. They pulled framed photos from the wall, threw them on the bed and covered them with plastic to protect them from fire and water, Stan Janedis said.

“In order to save stuff in the house they went in and covered everything before they started to put out the fire in the attic,” Janedis said. Although some of the photos sustained water and smoke damage, they did not burn.

Capt. Mark Fisher from station 36 in Oak Park was among the first to respond. If lives are not at risk, firefighters attempt to preserve as much property as possible, he said.

“We try to save anything of value,” especially irreplaceable photographs, Fisher said.

The fire reportedly started because of a faulty battery in the garage. Don McMaster, who works for a Westlake Village contractor that restores homes after fire or water damage, said an investigation is underway to determine the actual cause.

McMaster said the home must be stripped down to its studs and the roof replaced. The rebuilding is expected to take a year.

Janedis said the heartbreaker for him was the destruction of the kitchen. He custom-built the kitchen’s cabinets 20 years ago and said he didn’t know if he would be able to replicate them during the remodel.

Local schools are trying to collect retail store gift certificates for the family. Joan Janedis is a longtime education advocate and a former PTA president at Brookside Elementary and Oak Park High schools.

Gift certificates to Target, Macy’s, Coldwater Creek, JC Penney, Costco, L.L. Bean or Bed Bath & Beyond can be dropped in a box marked “House Fire Fund” at the Oak Park High School office.