MAGOFFIN – Four fires destroyed Magoffin County homes over the weekend.
The first fire occurred early Saturday morning as the snow storm was hitting in full force, adding another level of difficulty as the family waited for assistance.
Salyersville Fire Department Fire Chief told the Independent there had been a miscommunication with the 911 call incorrectly dispatched to Johnson County at first, with Salyersville not notified until two hours later, at which time the house was already totally destroyed.
Homeowner Carolyn Tackett, who lives off of US 460 West near the Magoffin/Johnson line, said approximately 10 minutes after 4 a.m. a friend who was staying with them woke up and saw smoke filling up the living room. He yelled for everyone to get out, with Carolyn and her daughter climbing out of the bedroom window (with no shoes on, in the pouring snow), and the friend helping her disabled husband out of the home safely. The family called 911, but after over an hour and half she said they found out the wrong county had been notified and Magoffin County was finally being alerted.
“At that point, it was too late,” Tackett said. “I can’t blame anyone from Salyersville Fire Department for anything, but by the time they knew about the fire everything was gone.”
The next fire reported was called in around 7 p.m., with Salyersville Fire Department toned out to a structure fire on Mash Fork, with a house belonging to Stacy and Renee Hall.
The home was a total loss and the two vehicles parked at the home were also damaged.
Renee told fire officials she was coming out of the restroom when the smoke alarms started going off. She went into the garage and it was full of smoke and flames, so she picked up their small house dog and ran out of the home. Her husband was at the barn nearby and by the time he was able to get back to the house they had already lost everything.
Then, around 2 p.m. on Sunday the Bloomington Volunteer Fire Department received a call regarding a chimney fire at Carpenter’s Ridge on US 460 near the Morgan County line.
Bloomington Volunteer Fire Department and North Magoffin Volunteer Fire Department, along with Salyersville Fire Department, responded to the fire, and was able to extinguish the flames, with smoke and water damage reported.
The last fire of the weekend was called in around 6 p.m. Sunday in the Royalton area near the Swampton Baptist Church, with the District 3 Volunteer Fire Department responding.
Officials tell Mortimer Media Group that the residents, Jamie Jenkins, his wife and three kids, were heating with space heaters since their natural gas line had frozen, noticing prior to the fire the electricity went off in the front two bedrooms.
Jamie heard crackling coming from the ceiling and got everyone out of the home, with smoke coming out of the roof by the time they exited, and the fire completely destroying the home.
