by Matt Wright
The fire trucks were all gone this morning, but the sound of water dripping inside the house could still be heard. A house fire at 4251 Loch Meade Drive, located directly on Garner Lake inside the East Shores neighborhood, raged out of control during the early morning hours of January 6, 2021.
According to Brent Perkins, the Public Information Officer for Shelby County Fire Department, a 911 call was dispatched at 1:47am for a house fire. The first company was on the scene at 1:55am, but firefighters were unsure how long the fire had been burning before the call came in for help. “The house fire was so large 5 engine companies were dispatched with a total of 30 firefighters on the scene,” said Mr. Perkins. The time between the start of the fire and the response time of the fire department is key according to Mr. Perkins who said, “If a fire has been burning for 7 or more minutes, provided there is heat, fuel and air, the fire doubles in size every minute. At that point it becomes very difficult to fight.”
According to the Shelby County Assessor website the home is registered to Simon and Jennifer Ellis but officials could not verify if anyone was home at the time of this report.
The home received heavy fire damage on the back of the house and the roofline and according to officials, the fire started on the back deck of the home before spreading to the home itself.
Fire officials are not sure what caused the blaze to get out of control but they are checking weather patterns last night to see if the wind might have pushed the fire into the structure. The fire department will continue the investigation, but the home is considered a complete loss.
Commissioner Wesley Wright said a fund drive has been started to help the Ellis family saying, “If you would like to give we have set up a donation box at the Nutrition Spot in the Corner Shops (Canada @ Hwy 64). We thought of focusing on items such as Visa gift cards for supplies/clothes and dining gift cards (particularly those who offer take out).”
