Auburn man loses musical instruments in fire

Sara Catlett knows how important musical instruments are to her boyfriend. Dylan DeKruse, Catlett's boyfriend who has lived in Auburn all his life, is a musician. DeKruse likes to make his own music. He plays guitar, mandolin, banjos, harmonicas and drums. He also likes to record his own drum beats with electric music. "He produces his own music," Catlett said. Everything changed for DeKruse on March 8. The Auburn Fire Department and CAL FIRE were dispatched to DeKruse's residence at Auburn Greens Apartments on Opal Drive. A fire destroyed the bulk of DeKruse's instruments and personal possessions. No one was home at the time the two-bedroom, 800 square-foot apartment caught fire. CAL FIRE Information Officer Mary Eldridge shared with the Auburn Journal the first arriving engine "saw smoke from the structure" and, "Firefighters took action quickly to knock down the fire." The cause was under investigation. The couple was at a friend's house in Colfax for dinner and to watch fights on TV when they received a phone call about the fire. They immediately drove back to Auburn and arrived at the complex between 7 and 7:30 p.m. "It was dark when we pulled into the (apartment complex)," Catlett said. "You could see the fire engines' lights flashing from Highway 49. Fire trucks were just lining up and down the street, all up the alley behind the building. We had to park a good distance away from his building." As the couple walked up to the building, neighbors had gathered to see firefighters battling the blaze. "At that moment, they had gotten the majority of the fire contained," Catlett said. "The water hoses were running all over the yard. It was a little bit chaotic." Catlett, 36, said DeKruse, 34, wanted to get into his apartment to save what he could. But he was informed he was not able to enter. "It was just a lot of waiting for the fire departments to finish doing what they needed to do," Catlett said. Catlett said one window of DeKruse's apartment blew out due to the fire. "They (fire departments) boarded it up for us," Catlett said. DeKruse was able to grab some clothes that were not damaged, plus personal items. DeKruse and Catlett were eventually allowed to go back to the apartment to salvage personal items. The instruments, however, suffered great damage. "Everything had fire damage on it," Catlett said. DeKruse is currently living with Catlett and her roommates in Auburn, but he longs to get back into his own residence and make music again. Catlett said the fire has shifted DeKruse's attitude day to day. "Sullen, off and on," Catlett said. "He's had good and bad days." Fortunately, their families have been supportive and are trying to help the best way they can. "Everyone has been doing what they can," Catlett said. DeKruse, in a brief telephone interview with the Auburn Journal on Monday afternoon, said he and his girlfriend are grateful for the help of their neighbors trying to put out the fire before the fire departments arrived at the scene. DeKruse said his neighbors used garden hoses to assist putting out the blaze. Catlett started a GoFundMe for her boyfriend a few days after the fire. As of Monday night, $915 of the $6,000 goal has been raised. The costs would cover for DeKruse to move into another apartment and replacing his musical instruments. One item that can't be replaced were old records of various musicians he inherited from his father. "Him not having working guitars is kind of hurting his spirit a little bit," Catlett said. Anyone wishing to donate toward DeKruse purchasing new musical instruments and equipment can visit the link on GoFundMe, https://www.gofundme.com/f/restore-hope-for-dylan-after-fire-loss?cdn-cache=0. Catlett can also be reached via email at catlettlminc@gmail.com.