A man escaped an early morning fire on May 10 that destroyed a home in the 4700 block of Rainbow Drive in Barnhart, said assistant chief Glenn Nivens of the Antonia Fire Protection District.
At 1:56 a.m., Antonia Fire got a call about the fire, he said.
“The renter called it in,” Nivens said. “He was in bed sleeping when the smoke detector in the basement woke him up. He got up and opened the basement door and heavy smoke was coming out of the stairwell.”
The man told fire officials he had been doing laundry most of the evening and when he realized the house was on fire, he grabbed a basket of laundry and his cell phone and ran out the front door and called 911, Nivens said.
“Shortly after he left the house, the whole house lit up,” Nivens said.
When firefighters arrived on the scene at 2:08 a.m., they “found a heavy fire load in the backside of the house. A shed attached to the house filled with pool chemicals and gasoline was also on fire,” Nivens said.
“It was a large fire that traveled into the attic,” he said.
The closest hydrant was about 900 feet away. Firefighters took a hose around to the back of the house and another to the front to fight the fire on the main floor, Nivens said.
Crews knocked down the fire quickly, but the fire was pretty far along when they got there, he said.
“The guys did a very good job. It works well with four guys on a truck. It’s going to be tougher when those guys go away,” he said. “It makes a big difference.”
The Antonia Fire Protection District has about a dozen firefighters whose salaries are paid through a grant that will end in March of next year.
Firefighters were on the scene until about 6 a.m. The man who escaped from the home also stayed at the site answering questions until firefighters left.
Nivens said he did not know the cause of the fire but noted that it was up high in the ceiling above the basement.
“There was a light near the area where the heaviest fire damage was located,” Nivens said.
He said the company that provides the insurance for the home is investigating the fire.
The house was a total loss and will have to be razed, Nivens said.
Fire officials offered to call the American Red Cross for the man, but he said he had somewhere to stay, Nivens said.
Firefighters from the High Ridge, Hillsboro, Rock Community, Saline Valley and Goldman fire protection districts assisted with the call.