Exterior damage to the home. Photo courtesy of Nicole Wright
A fire destroyed a home in southeastern Greene County over the weekend.
According to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy, along with the Grand Junction and Jefferson Fire Departments and Greene County Ambulance responded to a fire at a single family home in the 2000 block of 305 Street at 11:20pm on Friday night. Grand Junction Fire Chief Jason McDowell says the ranch-style home was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived on scene. He states that the family and all pets were able to get out safely and unharmed by the accidental fire that was caused from a wood stove in the basement.
McDowell points out that they battled the fire a total of 14 hours over the weekend and were called back out to the scene three separate times, including another time that the home was fully engulfed again. He notes that they thought they had it completely out before it re-ignited, but for an unknown reason, it was fully engulfed a second time. He says firefighters also battled the bitterly cold temperatures, but that no one was hurt from the weather and none of their equipment froze up. McDowell adds that they used over 30,000 gallons of water for that incident.
McDowell says the structure was a total loss. Captain Shane Allen, with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, says the family is working with Red Cross. A family friend, Paige Stevens, tells Raccoon Valley Radio the home belonged to Matt, Nicole, Addison and Ashlyn Wright and their greatest need is financial support as the family navigates what their immediate expenses are, temporary housing and next steps.
Stevens points out that people can make monetary donations to a Venmo account, which can be found below. She notes that there is a fake Venmo account that exists, but that the real account does not have dashes, periods, or other markings that separate the name. She asks everyone to insert “Nicole” in the note on Venmo. Stevens states other ways people can contribute financially is contacting her directly on Facebook as Paige Stevens and she can help give them alternatives.
Venmo: PLgravy