Jack and Brenda Etter of Mayfield lose their home to fire Tuesday afternoon
Jack and Brenda Etter fire. (Click to enlarge)
Sumner Newscow report — A Tuesday afternoon fire that started in an outbuilding has destroyed a Mayfield home and displaced an elderly couple.
Jack and Brenda Etter of Mayfield are currently living in their son’s R.V. in Wellington after a fire appears to have destroyed their home of 50-plus years.
“The house is a complete loss,” said Kip Etter, the son of the couple. “I’m not sure what we are going to do next.”
Jeff Mortimer, Mayfield Fire Chief, said the fire appeared to have started from a couple of outbuildings near the gazebo area the couple had in the backyard. He said the cause of the fire is unknown.
The fire quickly spread to the east side of the house where it got underneath the couple’s porch and attic. The couple was inside the house at the time, but was able to escape uninjured.
Thanks to the quick response of the Mayfield Fire Department, the fire was contained before it fully engulfed the house.
Kip said his parents are lucky to be alive.
“They were watching television at the time, unaware that a fire had started out back,” Kip said. “The television was facing toward the north and the fire was behind them.”
They saw Mortimer from the window who was on the street yelling at them to get out, Kip said. They turned around to see the fire and immediately left.
“The Mayfield Fire Department did one hell of a job,” Kip said.
While Mortimer said he thinks the house can be saved, Kip has a different view, saying there was so much smoke damage that it is impossible for them to return.
Jack and Brenda Etter’s home is situated on the southeast corner of Hutchinson and Grant Street in Mayfield. Mortimer said three outbuildings were destroyed and the neighbor’s shed received some heat damage. The estimated dollar damage has yet to be determined.
Kip said there will be an insurance adjuster, who could determine what caused the fire.
“My dad was just out there a couple of hours before and didn’t see anything unusual,” he said.
The home was unique in that it had handmade and custom furniture and cabinets. Most of the contents were hand-crafted giving it a log cabin look.
The Etters lost a lot of antiques, tools, and garden equipment from the destroyed outbuildings. Their clothes were brought into Wellington. After several times washing, the clothes were deemed unusable from the smoke.
Mortimer said there were nine firefighters on the scene. The Wellington Fire Department provided mutual aid.
