East Texas

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

LINDALE — Flames blistered the Wednesday morning sky and the air choked with a suffocating black smoke. Firefighters from three departments fought stubbornly, but the inferno claimed the 4,600 square-foot home.

The midmorning fire broke out in the home of Tommy and Evon Kirk, behind the couple’s business, Lindale Auto Glass and Collision on U.S. Highway 69, about two miles north of Lindale.

Smith County Assistant Fire Marshal Marilynn Wilson said the fire appears to have originated in the kitchen area of the home and quickly spread when a back door was broken by the owner to use a water hose in an attempt to extinguish the fire before it engulfed the home.

Tommy Kirk watched the firefighters as his wife Evon was consoled by other family members.

Kirk said he noticed the smoke while working at his shop and went to investigate.
He said he called the fire department and then went into the home and tried to put out the fire.

Wilson said when firefighters first arrived on scene, there was thick smoke rushing from all the eaves on the house and after making a quick attempt to fight the fire inside they pulled out.

“They could tell the roof was about to collapse and at that point this became a fire that was fought in a defensive posture,” she said.

A few of the firefighters were treated on the scene for heat exhaustion, but there were no injuries and no one was in the home at the time of the fire.

Wilson said early loss esti-mates may exceed $500,000.

She also added that the investigation of the fire continues.

“We will be looking at several things and it will be at least tomorrow before we can begin to dig it out and determine an exact cause,” she said.

Updated Wednesday, August 27, 2008, at 2:16 p.m. CDT