A traffic stop in the early morning hours Thursday may have saved Richard Andres’ life.
Andres and wife Marilyn lost their home and most of their belongings when their home at 1102 East St. burned.
There were no injuries — thanks in large part because the Andreses’ nephew, Iola police officer Brandon Andres, was on duty.
Officer Andres was conducting a traffic stop at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, not far from Richard and Marilyn’s home.
“He could see the smoke,” Marilyn Andres recalled.
Marilyn was at work at Crossroads Motel. Richard was asleep in the couple’s bedroom.
“Richard is a very sound sleeper and they couldn’t get him to answer the door when they knocked,” Marilyn said.
So Brandon kicked in the door, raced inside and began yelling for his uncle to respond.
“Richard has smoked probably 50 years of his life, and he coughs a lot,” Marilyn recalled. “But this time, it hurt him to cough when he woke up.”
A bit drowsy and disoriented, Richard spotted the light from his nephew’s flashlight. They exited the structure as the room filled with smoke.
The timing couldn’t have been better, Iola Fire Chief Donald Leapheart said.
“If they hadn’t gotten him out of that bedroom when they did, he probably wouldn’t have made it out alive,” Leapheart said.
Iola firefighters were on the scene in a flash, but not before the house’s laundry room was filled with flames.
“You could see flames coming from the window,” said Ron Jenkins of the Iola Fire Department.
The fire was largely contained in the laundry room, bedroom and kitchen, but smoke and water damage throughout the home was extensive.
The Andreses had no insurance.
Firefighters were on the scene for nearly four hours, not returning to the fire station until 6 a.m. Thursday.
The official cause has not been determined, although firefighters noted the fire appeared to begin near a clothes dryer in the laundry room.
The American Red Cross is assisting the couple, who are staying at Crossroads Motel in Iola until permanent housing is secured.
To donate, call Donna Culver at the Red Cross Neosho Valley chapter at 228-1674 or 365-8106.
Of particular need are kitchen items, Culver said, although other belongings, such as clothes and furniture, will be needed later.
THE BLAZE marked the second consecutive night firefighters were kept busy.
They responded in the fire department’s rural truck to a burning structure owned by Chuck Schaffer at 1251 1000 St.
The structure was fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night. It was called in when a passing motorist saw the glow from the fire from U.S. 54 west of Iola, about a mile away.
No cause has been announced, although thunderstorms accompanied by frequent lightning had swept through the area that night.
Firefighters were on the scene until about 4 a.m. Wednesday.
