WALHONDING — A fire Wednesday night in a mobile home near Walhonding took a lot of the cheer out of the Christmas season for a family of four.
The fire at 8240 Woods Church Road destroyed clothes, Christmas presents and other belongings of Teresa Partlow, her boyfriend Audie Matthews Jr. and two children.
“The kids’ rooms are OK,” Partlow told the News. “But from the living room on, everything is pretty much destroyed. We are not staying there right now.”
The American Red Cross Knox County Chapter is assisting the family with immediate needs including shelter.
Partlow said her insurance carrier will also be helping with long-term temporary housing.
Partlow said the children’s clothes were destroyed along with Christmas presents, a bed, cash, photographs and family videos.
Partlow said the insurance company told her to contact a contractor and a cleaning company to see if the home is salvagable.
Chief Larry Stimpert of the East Knox Joint Fire District said the department was dispatched at 11:23 p.m. Wednesday.
“It looks like we had it contained about six minutes into it,” Stimpert said. “We were there until about 1:21 a.m. It was a small fire in the bedroom. It damaged some clothes and there was smoke damage throughout the house.”
Anyone wishing to assist the family can contact the Red Cross at 397-6300.
