Weatherford Democrat
WEATHERFORD — Crystal Brown
cbrown@weatherforddemocrat.com
A fire started by a malfunctioning electrical panel destroyed a home on the Parker/Tarrant county line early Saturday morning near FM 1886.
The home, located in the 300 block of King Ranch Court, was between 5,000 and 6,000 square feet. Parker County Fire Marshal Shawn Scott said the house burned to the ground and four vehicles were also destroyed including a BMW, Audi TT, Honda Pilot and Ford F150.
Firefighting crews from Weatherford, Aledo and Silvercreek were among those who responded to the 3:15 a.m. call. Scott’s team stayed until daybreak to view the damage. He said when he left the site at 3 p.m. the fire was still smoldering.
Because of the size of the home and fire, the Tarrant County Arson Task Force was called in to assist with the investigation.
“After interviewing the resident of the house, we found a major malfunction in the main electrical panel in the garage that cause a massive short and started the fire,” Scott said.
He said a breaker had been tripping over and over again with the residents continuing the flip it on and go about their business.
“When a breaker trips, that’s an indication that something is wrong,” Scott said. “You need to find out what it is before you reset the breaker. A breaker is put into place as a safety feature. In this instance, continuing to reset the breaker ultimately caused the fire.”
Because of the location of the home, firefighters had to drive into Tarrant County and back in Parker County to access the home. They also had to truck in their own water. Scott said the remote accessibility and lack of water also contributed to the fire spreading so rapidly through the 10-year-old home.
Scott said there were approximately eight people in the home at the time of the fire, one was a resident and the rest guests. No one was injured.
The American Red Cross Chisholm Trail Chapter assisted with clothing for the resident and food and water for the firefighters.
Alyson Barber, public affairs team with the Red Cross Chisholm Trail Chapter, said the resident was able to find their own lodging and did not require any further assistance from the Red Cross.
