RAPID CITY -- A misdialed telephone call in the middle of the night can be annoying, but for one Rapid City family it turned out to be a life-saving twist of fate.
With their house reduced to charred timbers, Catie Hein, left, and Dale Hein, right, talk with cab driver Lib Usera, whose misdialed phone call alerted the family that their house was on fire. (Photo by Dick Kettlewell, Journal staff)
Im on Cloud Nine today. I feel the Lord did something for these people, said Lib Usera, the part-time Rapid Taxi cab driver whose wrong number alerted the family that their house was on fire.
Early Sunday morning, Dale and Catie Hein, their children age 10 and 11, and an 8-year-old foster child were all asleep in the familys Burns Circle home. They didnt know that a fire was smoldering inside their house.
Meanwhile on the other side of town, Usera was picking up a late-night fare. He pulled up in front of the house and dialed his cell phone to let the rider know he was outside. Its a lot safer than knocking on a strange door in the middle of the night.
This time, however, there was no immediate answer. Thinking he might have misdialed, Usera called again. The rider answered the second call, came out of the house and they were on their way. Usera didnt give it a second thought.
However, that errant call rang Catie Heins work phone in the bedroom of her home. Shes a home health nurse, and its not uncommon to get late-night calls. She awoke, saw that the caller had hung up and went back to bed.
All of a sudden I heard an explosion, and I heard someones feet running up and down the hallway n I thought What are those kids doing? She put on a robe, looked out the bedroom door and saw flames coming out of the office across the hall.
Dale, who had been sleeping in front of the TV downstairs, was also awake by this time. He yelled to call 911, and they grabbed the children and got out of the house. Dale believes that another three minutes in the house would have been fatal.
It was a miracle from God, Catie said.
Catie Hein said is still amazed by her neighbors in the Valley West Drive-Burns Circle area. As soon as the Heins got out of their house, neighbors appeared with blankets for the children. Others began hosing down the fence to keep the fire from spreading.
Its the best neighborhood in the world. Were going to tear down the house and rebuild there, because we want to stay there. Theyre awesome, she said.
Hein also praised the Rapid City Fire Department, the local American Red Cross chapter, KSLT Radio, Canyon Lake School, Canyon Lake Parent Teachers Association, the Rapid City Youth Soccer League and the familys church, Open Bible Christian Center.
The whole community, she said, has pitched in to help the family recover from the fire. But shes especially thankful to Lib Usera for his fateful phone call.
Later Sunday, she tried to contact the mystery caller. The voice on the answering machine didnt sound like anyone I knew, she said.
She left a message. And after playing phone tag for the better part of the week, Lib Usera and Cathy Hein finally connected in a call on Friday.
She said, Were you the one who called by mistake Sunday morning? And Im thinking Im going to get chewed out, Usera said, laughing. But she said, No, you are my guardian angel. You saved my life.
Usera is convinced that it was much more than a coincidence that saved the Hein family. It wasnt me that did it. It was God, he said.
The Heins have a lot of work ahead of them. Their house is a total loss, and they escaped with little more than the clothes they were wearing. However, Cathy Hein was upbeat on Friday afternoon.
Were grateful that we were all alive n the rest of it is just stuff, she said. I told the kids we can get more stuff, but we cant replace them.
