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Memorials set up in yard of the property where a Hubbard family lost a husband and father
By SAMANTHA PHILLIPS
HUBBARD
Makeshift memorials, including candles and a wreath, were placed in the front yard of the property where a Hubbard family lost a husband and father, pets, house and garage within one week.
James Vint, 45, died Wednesday in a garage fire on Simler Street. The Vint family lost its three dogs and bird in a house fire that happened Nov. 16, but everyone in the family escaped that night.
Public calling hours for Vint will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Kelley-Robb-Cummins Funeral Home. The funeral home will be accepting monetary donations for the Vint family.
Family and friends of Vint are devastated by the loss.
Deborah Demetruk of Girard, Vint’s sister, described him as a loving and caring man.
“He was a wonderful brother to me. We were very close,” she said. “His kids meant the world to him. He loved his family and his animals.”
Demetruk fondly remembers going to Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort with him, having crab-leg-eating competitions, going on vacations together and being thrown into the pool by him when they would go swimming.
She said they were like twins.
“He had a loving heart,” Demetruk said. “He loved to joke around. We laughed, we cried together, even yelled at each other sometimes, but the next day we would always laugh it off.”
Vint enjoyed working on his truck, riding his motorcycle and spending time with his friends and family, Demetruk said.
Deborah’s husband, John Demetruk, said it feels like he lost a brother rather than a brother-in-law. He said Vint loved to ride motorcycles with his father and go to Bike Night at the Austintown Quaker Steak and Lube. Carolyn Demetruk, Vint’s goddaughter, said Vint was always supportive of her and was a loving uncle.
“[Vint’s] mom and dad were very hurt – that was their only son. They loved him very much,” Deborah Demetruk said.
Elizabeth Bair said Vint was her best friend.
“He made me a better person, and I will forever be in debt to him and the Vint family,” she said. “It was an honor to know and love him.”
Bair said the family helped her get through the worst times of her life and welcomed her with open arms.
Christina Cozza-Stroup, a friend of the family who collected clothes and monetary donations for the family, said Vint would have given the clothes off his back to anyone who needed it.
Ron Stanish, Eagle Joint District fire chief, said firefighters will conduct another investigation into the garage fire. The cause of fire hasn’t been determined.
Stanish said there was a portable generator in the garage, but they are unsure if it was running when the fire broke out.
Angie Vint, James Vint’s wife, was at the scene of the fire and told an officer that her husband was in the garage, which was locked from the inside, according to a police report.
The police report said the officers on the scene tried to break through a boarded window and a wall with a shovel as they heard Vint yelling, and large flames were coming out of the front of the garage. The report then said the fire department arrived and officers assisted as needed.
The fire report had not been released as of Monday.