An outpouring helps entertainer push ahead after fire

The gestures warm the cockles of his heart.

The phone calls are music to his ears.

Friends and neighbors of entertainer Dave Kline have been calling him daily offering to help he and his wife, Kathy, recover from a Dec. 14 fire that destroyed their Spring Township home.

Most of the calls are coming from the craftsmen, artists, writers and musicians that Kline said he has worked with for more than three decades.

“They are my brothers and sisters and they have always been there for me,” he said. “Their support reminds me of the oldest adage in entertainment, ‘The show must go on.’ “

“My children have been there for us; they’re pretty much heading up the recovery project.”

Kline also was effusive in his praise for the first responders who fought the fire and recovered two pets, a cat and a dog. Logan, a six-month-old Great Pyrenees mix puppy and Leo, a 2-year-old rescue cat both perished in the fire. The Klines had rescued both animals from shelters.

“Our immediate neighbors were there right away and called us,” Kline said. “I think some of them would have run into the house if the firefighters weren’t there to stop them.”

Kline, a former executive with the defunct Reading

Eagle Company, was at his daughter Hillary’s house in the Lehigh Valley with his wife, Kathy, when a neighbor called him to say the house was on fire. At about 5:30 p.m., crews responded to flames at the rear of the house in the 1800 block of South Mountain Drive.

Kline said the cause of the fire has been determined to be electrical in nature, but the exact source of the blaze is still under investigation. Township Deputy Fire Chief Rick Schartel said Saturday that no cause had been determined.

Kline said he had not gotten to the Christmas lights.

“There was no Clark Griswold effect,” he joked, referring to the holiday classic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

“I’ve learned a lot from the firefighters,” Kline said. “Did you know you should unplug any appliance that generates heat, like a toaster, whenever you’re not at home?”

In addition to an exact source that sparked the blaze, Kline said he also doesn’t have an exact estimate of damage to the home. He said the living room and kitchen are burned beyond recognition.

Paintings and other fixtures and appliances in rooms that weren’t burned melted onto walls and furniture. The entire house is damaged by smoke and heat. His prized musical instruments were kept in cases in his music room. That room was hit by fire and some instruments were

MICHELLE LYNCH — MEDIANEWS GROUP

Entertainer Dave Kline’s house in Spring Township was damaged by a fire on Dec. 14. On Saturday it is still boarded up and uninhabitable. Kline is grateful for the numerous people who have helped since the fire. damaged. He said his musical through his music and friends are evaluating other contributions. what instruments can “If we rebuild, it will be salvaged and which are be here in Berks County,” a loss. Kline said. “Whatever happens,

“We’re not sure yet but we already have our the house may be a total places picked out in Gethsemane rebuild,” Kline said Saturday Cemetery so I’m between commitments here to stay.” he has to local groups he has supported for decades