Reward offered in Ranchos house fire

The mother of the owner of a Gardnerville Ranchos home severely damaged in a June 7 fire is offering a $1,000 reward.

Carol Winter, mother of Bob Winter, said they are seeking information on whomever might have been setting off fireworks in the neighborhood.

Bob Winter said he was told by insurance investigators that the cause of the fire that claimed his and his neighbor’s Long Valley homes was undetermined, but that they wouldn’t rule out fireworks.

He said that they would reopen the investigation if the reward turns up new information.

East Fork Fire Marshal Amy Ray said firefighters didn’t receive any reports of fireworks at the time of the fire.

Winter’s home is a complete loss, and he hopes to find out if someone was responsible before it’s torn down.

Winter, a 35-year federal disaster inspector for FEMA, said he was on his way home that afternoon when he saw the smoke rising from his neighborhood.

“I thought ‘God I hope that isn’t my house,’” he said. “As I pulled around the corner I could see the neighbor’s shed was on fire and mine was just catching on fire.”

He tried to get a garden hose but by that time the shed was on fire and he was driven from the backyard. He and a neighbor went into the house to grab some valuables when the back windows exploded, and the smoke started pouring in.

“We had to run out the front door and dive onto the lawn,” he said. “I’ve helped hundreds of thousands of disaster victims from floods, hurricanes and fires. I know these people’s pain, but now I really know their pain, because look at me, I’ve lost everything.”

Winter’s home was essentially a museum with signed photos from celebrities he’d served as a bodyguard, his karate trophies, and his prize possession, a jersey worn by his great uncle Football Hall of Famer Bob Waterfield.

“This hung in the Football Hall of Fame,” he said picking up a corner. “They had a bust made of him and they gave it to his wife, and then she gave it to me. She knew I loved football. This was a museum.”

Winter had a closet full of suits, including some Armani, that he wore when he was working as a bodyguard. While East Fork firefighters were able to save them, it’s unlikely they will be wearable due to smoke damage.

Much of his clothes, including a collection of T-shirts from a variety of disasters he’d worked, were destroyed when the hangars melted.

While the damage isn’t evident from the street, the entire back of the house burned.

Fireworks are illegal in Douglas County.