Fire destroys home near Elkhart

An Anderson County woman escaped injury Wednesday afternoon as fire destroyed her home near Elkhart on FM 1817. Donna Thompson was drinking a cup of coffee around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday when she smelled smoke, said her son Steve Thompson.

“She started down the hallway and couldn’t see the hall lights because of the smoke,” he said. “She turned around, got her purse and left.”

Mrs. Thompson was able to get her dogs out of the house and call for help.

Elkhart Volunteer Fire Department chief Jim Bob Parker said that by the time firefighters arrived at the three-bedroom, two-bath brick ranch-style house, the fire had spread throughout and was breaking through the roof.

“When we got here, smoke was everywhere,” Parker said. “Fire was coming out of some of the windows and doors and had vented through the roof.”

Firefighters arrived from Slocum, Southside, Neches and Grapeland to assist with extra men and tankers.

“That was a real good thing,” Parker noted. “We emptied mine and Southside’s tankers. Slocum got here with one and Grapeland and Neches brought theirs.”

The fire also caused a supply of oxygen bottles and some ammunition stored in the house to explode, but no one was injured, Parker and law enforcement officials said.

The cause of the fire is unknown, Parker said.

“We have no idea about the cause or how long it had burned,” he said. “It was hot from one end to the other when we arrived. It had been burning awhile.”

The house is considered a total loss, Parker said. Thompson said that his mother and father, Loren Thompson, had lived in the home since around 1970. The Thompsons own and operate Elkhart Food Center.
By Beth Foley, The Palestine Herald