Veteran’s family starting from scratch following devastating house fire
Cordero Wade says he’s grateful for the community’s support and that his family is okay.
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A family of five is starting from scratch after losing everything in a house fire late Sunday morning.
Nearby witnesses say the fire started in the garage but grew exponentially in no time at all.
“Triple the size within seconds,” neighbor Bonnie Bowers described.
The Wade family who rents the home told WSMV4 they didn’t know how the fire started, but they knew they needed to get out. Neighbors echoed the same urgency, evacuating close to a block of homes to keep people safe in case the fire spread.
“We were evacuating all of this area and going to the park,” Bowers recalled.
After three hours and change, the home was gutted and the family was displaced.
“Like one minute you have your three beautiful cars and everything you want in life,” Bowers said. “Then within seconds, it’s all gone.”
Neighbors far and wide are stepping in to help the family, and the Wade’s say they’re overwhelmed with support.
A GoFundMe has been started to help the family in their recovery efforts.
But neighbors are raising the alarm after they say it took nearly 20 minutes for a fire truck to be on the scene.
“It seemed it was about 20 or 25 minutes before the first volunteer fire department came,” Bowers said.
Since the subdivision falls within county lines, the burden of response falls on county departments, which are all volunteer. The closest station is about 10 minutes away, that being the Saint Bethlehem Fire and Rescue. They were first on the scene 19 minutes after the initial call.
But there is another department closer which is a Clarksville Fire Station.
We found out the county and city have a mutual aid contract, but the county Fire Chief would need to first call and ask for support before Clarksville could choose to accept and respond.
“It was sheer panic; I mean it was really scary,” Bowers said. “We’ve got citizens going in there trying to make sure other vehicles are out of the way or whatever. It was helpless.”
Neighbors say the first ladder truck came around 45 minutes after the fire initially sparked. Although the fire was eventually dealt with, neighbors are concerned their homes could have been or could be collateral damage in the future if something isn’t done.
“This is supposed to be first on the priority, this is safety, this is safety and rescue,” Bowers said.
Montgomery County leaders say they don’t have any shortages of volunteers in their fire departments.
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