Granite City grandmother loses home to fire after insurance mistakenly allowed to lapse
It was bad enough that a Granite City family lost their home in a fire Monday night, then they found out it wasn’t covered by insurance.
Three siblings had been taking care of business for their mother, Linda McLean, 85, and somehow the last insurance payment “fell through the cracks,” according to her granddaughter.
“My grandma has owned that house (for more than 40 years),” said Jody Werner, 38. “She’s the kind of woman who has a perfect credit score. She has never let her bills go or had anything turned off. This is like the one time that this house was not insured.”
Linda is a mother of five, grandmother of five and great-grandmother of four. She lived in a white-sided ranch at 3208 Wayne Ave. with an addition in back.
The fire also displaced Linda’s daughter, Jennifer Werner, 63, and Jennifer’s son, Clayton Werner, 34, who were living with her and helping to care for her; as well as two great-grandsons, Evan Werner, 22, and Phoenix Werner, 19.
The fire likely was caused by a space heater running in a back room, Granite City Deputy Fire Chief Rich Moore reported.
“We’re usually pretty good about doing an investigation if it’s warranted,” he said. “But with what the homeowner said and the presence of that burned space heater and its proximity to a sofa ... That appears to be the reason.”
The family had been trying to hire a plumber due to a water pipe freezing and bursting. Jody, Jennifer’s daughter, wonders if that could have impacted the situation somehow.
Firefighters were called to the home at 6:26 p.m. Monday. The last unit left at 9:17 p.m.
“There was significant damage,” Moore said, noting that it was caused not only by fire and heat, but also smoke and water.
The fire made for a tragic end to a challenging year for the family.
Jennifer, a widow and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville employee who formerly worked for BJC Healthcare, suffered a stroke and heart attack in January and underwent quintuple bypass surgery in March.
Earlier this month, Jody and Clayton found out that they’re being laid off in January. She’s a chef who runs the kitchen at The Improv Shop in St. Louis with her brother’s help. The comedy club is getting out of the food business.
On Monday evening, Evan, a college student on Christmas break, discovered the fire when he went to a back room in Linda’s home to charge his cellphone, according to Jody.
“He opened the door, and the room was engulfed in flames,” she said.
Evan and Phoenix helped Linda escape and tried to round up the family’s five cats. Jennifer, who had just taken a shower, ran out into the cold wearing only a towel. They sat in Jody’s car until a neighbor invited them inside to warm up.
Three cats lived, one died in the fire and one is missing. The family found out Tuesday about the lapse in their insurance coverage.
“This is almost funny it’s so terrible,” Jody said.
Friends began contributing money through Venmo and PayPal after reading about the fire on Jody’s Facebook page. She was persuaded to start a GoFundMe campaign on Wednesday.
“We’re the type of family ... We have never relied on anybody but ourselves,” Jody said, her voice filled with emotion. “It’s not easy for anyone, I don’t think, to have their hand out. It’s hard, and it’s really humbling.”
The Improv Shop plans to donate 100% of proceeds from comedy shows on Friday and Saturday to the family, according to General Manager Andy Sloey.
Jody is not only a chef at the comedy club, she’s a performer.
“She’s been a pillar of the improv community in St. Louis for a long time, and she became our kitchen manager in 2017,” Sloey said. “Everybody loves her, and she has been taking care of the community by feeding them for five years, so we want to help her out at this difficult time.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
