Fire destroys Breckenridge family’s home; donations being accepted
By Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
Donations are being accepted to help meet the immediate needs of a Breckenridge family whose house burned down Monday evening in the 200 block of North Harvey Street.
Friends of the homeowner watch as firefighters battle a house fire in the 200 block of North Harvey. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Alexa Herring said she and her two daughters were in Woodson at Vacation Bible School when the fire started. A friend of hers was at the house and got out uninjured, and neighbors helped get the family’s pets out of the yard, Herring said. No injuries were reported.
Herring’s daughters are in the ninth and third grades at Woodson Independent School District, and Principal Brent Mills said the school will be accepting donations for the family. For more details about making donations, contact Mills at 903-472-1566.
The family lost all of their clothing, bedding and other household items. Facebook posts indicate the family could use clothing in adult large and small sizes, as well as shoes in sizes 4, 7 and 9. Items may be dropped off at the Cricket store in Breckenridge or at the school in Woodson, and they will be delivered to the family.
Additionally, Amanda Strain, the family friend, and her children lost much of their clothing and shoes (women’s pants sizes 7 and 8, large and medium women’s shirts, girls clothing size 8/10, and boys clothing size 14/16, women’s shoes sizes 7 1/2, boys shoes size 3, and girls shoes size 12). Items for them may be dropped off at 414 W. Elm St. (the little yellow house behind Pho Angel); donations can be left on the porch or under the carport.
According to the Breckenridge Fire Department, firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire just before 7 p.m. Monday, July 25. They were assisted by the Hubbard Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Breckenridge Police Department, Stephens County Sheriff’s Office and AMR ambulance service, that was on-scene in case there were any injuries.
The house was a total loss, but the cause of the fire has not been determined, according to the BPD.
According to people who were at the scene Monday night, the fire appeared to have started in the back of the house or in a small shed behind the house. Herring’s friend, who was in the house, was alerted to the fire by someone who saw the fire and knocked on the front door.
Breckenridge firefighters work to put out the house fire at the corner of North Harvey and West Elm streets Monday evening. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
As the Breckenridge firefighters battled the blaze inside the house, the fire started to spread across the backyard and into the trees, and the back fence caught on fire along the alley. Several citizens were working to help prevent the fire from spreading across the alley. A short while later, two fire trucks from the Hubbard Creek VFD arrived, and firefighters immediately started fighting the fire along the fence and in the trees to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby houses and yards.
As late at 8:30 p.m., firefighters were still on the scene working to mop up and extinguish hotspots that were still smoldering inside the structure. Hubbard Creek fire crews had refilled their trucks with water and returned to continue helping out.
Neighbors pitched in with water hoses and shovels to help the firefighters prevent the fire from spreading to nearby houses. Once additional firefighters arrived on the scene, they put out the fires in the trees and on the fence and stood vigilant against flareups. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
A Breckenridge firefighter sprays water on a burning shed behind the house. According to the BFD, the cause of the fire has not been determined yet. (Photo by Brant Thurmond)
A Breckenridge firefighter battles through thick smoke to extinguish a house fire on Monday evening. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
A Hubbard Creek Volunteer Fire Department firefighter rushes a fire hose to the burning fence behind the house on the corner of West Elm and North Harvey. HCVFD brought two of their fire trucks to the house fire in the Breckenridge neighborhood Monday evening. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Neighbors, police offices and firefighters look over the destroyed house at North Harvey and West Elm streets while other firefighters hit the hotspots Monday evening. The house is considered a total loss, the BFD said. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: The Breckenridge Police Department and AMR ambulance service assist the Breckenridge Fire Department at the scene of a house fire on North Harvey Street on Monday night. The Hubbard Creek Volunteer Fire Department and the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office also assisted. (Photo by Brant Thurmond)
Brant Thurmond contributed to this article.
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