Michael Clark – who lost his legs in 2001 after being struck by a train – was homeless and living undetected in a west-side storage facility for two months before it caught fire early Tuesday.
“I had enough to fill a two-bedroom apartment,” said Clark, 50. “Everything was lost.”
Clark, who is originally from Texas, is hoping a treasured wood-framed photograph of his mother survived the blaze, which happened Tuesday morning at AAA Self Storage, 2155 S.W. Westport.
Clark hasn’t been able to go through his belongings at the storage facility, which he had been renting for several weeks, he said.
Wednesday afternoon was a whirlwind of activity for Clark. He is staying at the Topeka Rescue Mission and was excited to take a shower and get into new clothes.
The Topeka Capital-Journal initially was told Clark was a quadriplegic. Instead, Clark is missing his leg below the knee on his left side. On his right side, Clark is missing his leg below the thigh.
Clark, who said he has a traumatic brain injury from the 2001 incident, doesn’t remember all of the details surrounding the fire. He said he had been getting into the storage facility undetected at night and would sleep there until 4 or 5 a.m. Clark would leave before anyone saw him.
Monday night, Clark was trying to stay warm and fell asleep.
“I had two candles I had lit,” Clark said.
Fire officials said the fire was started by a candle.
Officials were notified of Clark’s presence at the storage facility after the fire. Clark was trapped at the back of the facility in his wheelchair. He was taken to an area hospital for observation and to be treated for exposure to the cold.
“I know I shouldn’t have been there,” Clark said. “I’m lucky to be alive – again.”
Clark was referring to the fire, as well as a heart attack he had earlier in his life and the train incident.
“I was homeless then,” Clark said about the September 2001 accident. “I was a bad alcoholic. I would come (to the Topeka Rescue Mission) to eat and shower.”
Clark had been visiting the mission and was on his way back to his camp in North Topeka when he was struck by a train.
“One-hundred seventy-five yards under a train is a long way” to be dragged, he said.
Union Pacific crew members reported seeing Clark on the tracks, but they were unable to stop the train in time to avoid hitting him.
The incident happened about one-half mile north of the Sardou Bridge, on the west side of the Kansas River.
Clark told Topeka police he had been drinking and fell down, according to a 2001 Topeka Capital-Journal article.
On Wednesday, Clark was physically and emotionally drained, Rescue Mission staff workers said. He wanted to return to the scene of the fire to go through his belongings, but staff talked him into staying and taking a shower instead.
“I’m fortunate to have a place like this to come to,” he said.
Operation Street Reach and the Rescue Mission are working to obtain new prosthetic legs for Clark. Anyone interested in donating can call Doris Foster at (785) 354-1744.
Terry Hund, director of program development for the Topeka Rescue Mission, and Justyn Hosman, director of Operation Street Reach, have been working closely with Clark.
“This situation has touched other people, too, and we’re sorry for their loss,” Hund said of the people who lost belongings in the fire.
Clark is taking things one day at a time and hopes to soon smile again. Part of that is making others laugh, he said.
“That gives me the fulfillment in my life – to make others laugh,” Clark said. “It fills that void that I’ve carried around most of my life.”
WIBW: Homeless Man Loses Prosthetic Legs in Fire
