By MICHELLE ZLOMKE
Chief features editor

    ARNOLD -- The fire that destroyed several buildings at Harland White’s residence Friday also took the lives of most his son’s rare and exotic birds.
    Dan White, who shares a home with his father between Arnold and Merna, lost 18 birds.
    His collection included cockatiels, Macaws, an African Grey parrot and a four-year-old emu named Clyde.
    He was quiet as he surveyed the scene, talking only occasionally to the firefighters and his father.

The animals were sheltered in a farrowing house that was one of four building destroyed by the Friday morning fire.
    The fire spared surrounding buildings, including another farrowing house with chickens, and a nearby garage with shop equipment.
    “There’s only four feet between that (destroyed) farrowing house and the other one,” White said. “It never even touched it. It’s just amazing that it didn’t go any further than it did.”
    He said none of the buildings, contents or birds were covered by insurance.
    White said he had not slept well and had been up throughout the night, finally settling into bed about 6 a.m. When he next looked outside about 8:30 a.m., the buildings and contents had already been reduced to piles of ashes and charred metal.
    “By then, it was all mop up,” he said, as he and his son watched his brother, Everett White, sift through the mess.
    Fire Chief Robbi Smith of Arnold said his department’s role when they arrived was limited, because the fire was nearly out.
    “Basically, it was a salvage situation,” Smith said. “There was nothing to save when we got here, so our job is to keep the fire from spreading and keep down the hotspots.”
    Smith said it would be difficult to estimate the value of the contents of the buildings. Equipment stored in the buildings included a couple of small tractors and two generators.
    Arnold responded to the fire with four trucks and 12 firefighters.  Merna assisted with an additional water truck and four firefighters. Smith estimated they would spend about three hours on the scene.
    Smith said the department did not plan to investigate the fire to determine its origin.
    “I just have no idea where the heck it would have started,” White said. “We’ll never know. I’m just thankful it didn’t burn the whole place down here.”
    His son still has a few small birds in cages in the house. He had traveled across the country to build his collection.
    Accompanied by his dog, quietly surveying the scene, the younger White said he doesn’t know if he will start over.
    “I’ve got no place to put them,” he said.