PIQUA — Clayton Abbott and Tisha Covey lost everything they owned, “but got out with everything that was living,” in a Saturday house fire.
The fire started in an attached garage while Abbott, Covey and their four children were inside the home, unaware.
Trena Jacobs, who was eating dinner next door at Silverado’s, told the Register her husband, James, noticed the garage fire.
While others in the restaurant assumed briefly it a controlled fire, James Jacobs instead raced to the house and kicked in the front door.
“We were in the front room hooking up a new TV,” Abbott said. “We had no idea anything was burning until he came in yelling for us to get out.”
The family emerged with their pets, including two birds, a cat and several dogs, while Abbott rushed into the burning garage to retrieve a family van.
All escaped unharmed, but the rapidly expanding fire quickly swept through the rest of the house.
Volunteer firefighters were at the scene in minutes, and did what they could, but the fire was too intense to knock down before the home was gutted.
“All we have left is the foundation,” Abbott said.
Because the weather was getting warmer, Abbott and Covey allowed their home insurance policy to lapse.
“We have nothing,” he said.
Donna Culver of the Neosho Valley chapter of the American Red Cross, said household items are being collected on the family’s behalf once they find a permanent home.
For now, the family is staying with a friend.
Abbott suspects the fire started because of a fault in the electric wiring that caused breakers to blow frequently when a hot water tank kicks on.
“We replaced the fuse, but the house had pretty old insulation,” Abbott said. “The insulation was about 100 years old.”
