DECATUR — A week after her home was destroyed by a fire, Wanda Clayton is doing her best to take things in stride and is busily preparing to rebuild her home.

Clayton was inside her house on Eubanks Street in Decatur, along with her daughter, son, daughter-in-law and her five grandchildren, when it caught fire on the afternoon of Jan. 2. All four adults and five children made it out of the home safely, but the house was a total loss, according to fire chief David Flynt.

Despite the loss of her home, Clayton has managed to stay positive.

“I’ve been taking things minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day,” she said.

Fortunately, the home was insured, so Clayton’s insurance company gave her the option of rebuilding or moving to a different home. Clayton chose to rebuild.

After 14 years of living in the neighborhood it feels like home, she explained.

Clayton said she has been humbled and astonished by the number of people who reached out to help her family in the aftermath of the fire.

“I’m so thankful,” she said.

On Friday, Claytonstopped at the Decatur Northside Elementary School to pick up her grandchildren and to meet with PTO vice-president Melissa Adams and her husband John Adams. The couple brought a truckload of items donated by Faith Lutheran Church in Bentonville. The Decatur Fire Department has also been collecting community donations.

Clayton said the family has already received plenty of children’s clothes, along with several beds and dishes, but they are still in need of items such as small appliances, pots and pans, cooking utensils and linens, she said.

The family also lost most of their pictures in the fire. Only a few were salvageable, Clayton said. Some of the older pictures of Clayton’s grandparents and from her childhood can be copied from relatives, but her grandchildren’s baby pictures were all destroyed.

Clayton said the most important thing is that her family made it out of the home safely.

“The house can be replaced; these little people can’t,” she said, gesturing toward her grandchildren.

Donations can be made by contacting the Decatur Fire Department at 752-3912.

Community News, Pages 5 on 01/12/2011