Fire engulfs house on 1202 South C in Wellington this morning.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — A structure fire on 1202 South C in Wellington has caused $65,000 worth of damage and has left the James McEachern family at the moment homeless.

At 3:20 a.m. this morning, Wellington firefighters responded to a 911 call concerning a fire on the south edge of Wellington. Upon arrival, heavy fire was coming from the rear roof of the structure. Wellington Fire Chief Tim Hay said most of the roof collapsed into the structure making extinguishment of canceled areas difficult.

All occupants in the home escaped safely and there were no injuries.

Hay said the cause of the fire was electrical. McEachern confirmed this as well.

“It happened the back part of house where the breaker box is,” McEachern said. “Around 12:30 this morning, the breaker box went down and wouldn’t reset to full power in the house.”

He said he turned off the heating/air system and put out space heaters to combat the cold weather. A little after two, his pit bull dog Kratos came barking to the bedroom.

“He never barks, so I knew something was wrong,” McEachern said. “So I got up and checked the breaker box and the fire was already out of control.”

The fire was contained to the back part of the house and the roof but water damage makes the house unsalvageable.

When asked where McEachern is going to live now he said, “I have no idea.”

There were 20 emergency personnel at the scene including three fire engines, one tender, one aerial, three pickups and one ambulance.

“Several hose lines were used for fire suppression including a deck gun and an aerial apparatus,” Hay said.

Those assisting with the fire incident include the Wellington Police Department, Wellington Emergency Management, the street department, the city electric department, and the Kansas Gas Service. See full photo gallery here.

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