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Early morning fire completely destroys rural Stockton home

Wed, 04/29/2020 - 12:37
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The Stockton Fire Department was called to the Lou and Ray Kriley home at 1215 16 Terrace, located just west of Stockton, shortly before 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, April 29th. When the firefighters arrived on the scene the south side of the house was fully involved with two outbuildings (garage and small shed) already on the ground. The possible cause of the fire is believed to be from a secondary electrical overhead wire that made contact with a metal roof in the garage. And with the addition of the high winds, it didn’t take long for the fire to quickly spread.

The fire was discovered by Lou, who had heard their dog barking and felt something wasn’t right, so she went to check out why he was barking. What she witnessed was the back (south) part their house engulfed in flames. Lou woke up Ray, and the two made it out safely with the only casualty being one of their cats.

The Stockton firemen had the rescue truck and two tankers at the scene with mutual aid from Woodston and Plainville. A total of 19 volunteers from the three departments worked throughout the early morning hours to control the fire. They also received extra water help from Nutrient Ag, and the volunteers were given routine safety precautions throughout the duration. But only 35 to 40 minutes after the firefighters had arrived, Stockton Fire Chief Jon Voss had the hard task of informing Lou that they weren’t going to be able to save the house because it had too much of a start by the time they had arrived. Also, with the construction methods of early 1900 houses like the Krileys, there were no fire stops or blocks worked into the framing. Voss said that once a fire gets in the wall cavities, it is almost impossible to put out. He said there were five cavities burning from the ground all the way up to the metal roof. Voss said other houses lost to fire, which had been constructed the same way, include the David and Cheryl Calvin home, and Kim Ray’s home.

The department worked the scene for eleven and a half hours. They then left one truck there to help with the mop up of the area.

The trucks also went out again around 3:00 a.m. on Friday morning, May 1, as some hot spots had flared up again.

The house, garage and small shed were a total loss. A GoFundMe page has been set up on Facebook: Lou and Ray Kriley Fire Recovery Fund. People can also make donations at Solutions North Bank in Stockton or at the Stockton Dental Center.