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By Penny Fletcher
penny@observernews.net
RUSKIN — It hasn’t been an easy year for 39-year-old Mark Broviak of Ruskin. The single dad, who has raised his now 18-year-old quadruplets alone since his wife left them when the children were one year old, lost his job at the beginning of the year and his unemployment is about to run out.
His dad, who lived on the property with them, died in May.
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| Penny Fletcher Photos
Paula Stalvey of Ruskin spends the day at her brother Mark Broviak’s helping clean up after a fire burned the single-dad’s mobile home to the ground Christmas Eve. From the left are Adam, Brittany, Paula, Mark, Valerie and Scott. The four teens are quadruplets and Mark has raised them alone since they were 1. |
Just when the family thought things couldn’t get much worse, a Christmas Eve fire destroyed their 3-bedroom, 2-bath mobile home at 1702 Sixth St. S.E. (just past the Ruskin Recreation Center.)
Fortunately, there is another mobile home on the 5-acre property the family has occupied since 1976 so they have a roof over their heads. That was where his father lived until his death, after which, Mark brought his mother to live there. One of his quadruplets, Scott, also has a bedroom in Mark’s mother’s home.
“The girls (Brittany and Valerie) were staying overnight with friends,” Mark said when I met with him at the property Dec. 28. “And I just happened to fall asleep in the house with Scott, so Adam was the only one in the house when it caught fire.
“When Adam woke up, his room was engulfed in flames. He ran out and got us.”
It was then they realized their dog and cat were still inside.
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| Buga-Buga, a friendly border collie, thanks family friend A.J. Vagnarelli for saving his life. Buga-Buga was trapped in a back bedroom in the burning home barking loudly when A.J. ran inside after him and busted out a window so they could escape. The family cat, however, died in the fire. |
“Buga-Buga (the dog) was barking up a storm, terrified, in a back bedroom,” Mark’s older sister Paula Stalvey said. “I don’t know how he did it, but A.J. (Vagnarelli, a close family friend who was staying the night) burst in and rescued him. It was just awful. They said he was howling, practically screaming in terror.”
Mark added that it was the loud noise Buga-Buga was making that enabled A.J. to find him. “He had to bust a window to get out. I guess some people would say it was dumb to risk your life for a dog, but we sure appreciate what he did,” Mark said.
Their cat, however, died in the fire.
When I arrived for our interview several family friends were hard at work separating any scrap metal that could be sold and scrounging through the burned-out home for whatever might be salvageable. It didn’t appear possible to find anything under the blackened mess, and even four days later, the smells of fire and smoke were still strong.
In spite of the situation, Mark managed to smile and even made a couple of jokes while I was there. He is obviously not easily crushed.
“Mark can do just about anything,” said Paula. “When I managed the Comfort Inn, he was my maintenance man and that really called for just about every skill you can imagine. Then his last job was as a surveyor.”
He has been searching for a job and drawing unemployment for almost a year. Thanks to the Presidential extension of unemployment benefits, he says he is getting another seven weeks, but that will soon be over.
Paula, who the rest of the family calls “The Rock,” was the executor of their father’s estate and is trying to help them in any way she can. Employed by LifeSaving Systems of Apollo Beach for the last 10 years, she has her own residence (and bills) to keep up in Ruskin.
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| Penny Fletcher photo
This is what is left of the three-bedroom, 2-bath mobile home where the Broviak family lived. A fund has been set up at SunTrust Bank in Ruskin to help them replace a lifetime of clothing, furniture, household items, and of course — their home. |
Friends have set up a trust fund for the Broviaks at SunTrust Bank.
“If someone wants to donate but doesn’t have transportation to the bank, they can call (813) 478-3629 for assistance,” Paula said. “It’s hard now though, with the economy the way it is, and it being right after Christmas. But we hope some people can still open their hearts and help the family out.”
Mark’s main wish, however, is for employment so he can continue to provide for his family by working, as he’s done every year until 2009. “I’ve never seen it like this before, where I couldn’t find something,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of different kinds of work. But there’s nothing out there now.”
Meanwhile, Hillsborough County Code Enforcer Robin Caton has given the family seven days to clean the lot of the debris because it is a hazard for neighboring homes.
That doesn’t seem to worry Mark.
“My friends are helping me so I know we’ll make it (the county’s deadline),” Mark said. As for how he’s going to replace a lifetime of possessions, Mark says he’s just going to have to take that one day at a time.
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