Sherill Walters thought it was odd when her friend, Cyrena Meyers, suddenly dropped the phone while they were talking Tuesday afternoon. A few hours later, she found out it was tragic.
Meyers, 63, died in a house fire north of Des Moines that started about the time the conversation ended, authorities said Wednesday.
Walters said she had been talking on the phone with Meyers ab,out 12:45 p.m. when the call was abruptly disconnected. "The deputy told me I was probably the last person to talk to her. That kind of freaks me out."Walters said.
Meyers didn't say anything to indicate she was in trouble. "She never screamed or hollered or nothing," Walters said. She said the phone was still out when she tried to call back five minutes later.
When she tried again in a half hour, the phone rang but there was no answer. "I thought this was strange," she said. "But she was the kind that if she didn't want to talk to someone, she'd pull the phone (cord) out."
Walters said she figured that if there was a problem, Meyers' companion, Don Grisso, would help her. Grisso, who lived with Meyers at 5001 N.E.12th St. in Saylor Township, wasn't home at the time.
Walters found out about the blaze from a TV news show later that afternoon.
Authorities said careless smoking started the fire. They said Meyers was found near the front door late Tuesday afternoon.
A woman who witnessed the fire said the body should have been found more quickly. Carol Patterson said the Saylor Township firefighters act as theou they assumed the house was empty.
"I'm not an expert, but I was concerned," she said. "I thought they should have moved a little faster."
Patterson, who works nearby, said she stopped by the scene soon after the fire started. She said firefighters didn't appear to check for victims. She said that if the volunteer firefighters had done a better job, Meyers would not have been burned beyond recognition. "The family could have at least had an open casket at the funeral."
Assistant Fire Chief Tom Clark said firefighters tried to enter the house at least four times. The problem, he said, was that flames had engulfed both the front and back doors. Firefighters tried to look through windows but were unable to see anything because of smoke, flames and clutter around the house, Clark said.
"There was so much stuff in there that it was impossible to see anything," he said.
George Howe, a state fire investigator, said it would have been virtually impossible to contain the flames. He said the house was filled with papers and other flammable debris. "Really, I think the fire department acted fine," he said.
This sad story is part of our family story. Don Grisso, was my mother's youngest brother. He and Cyrena were always at family events.
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