Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Firefighters respond to blaze in Little Flock
LITTLE FLOCK — As firefighters continued their work Friday at a burned house at 1679 Esther Lane, flames had subsided, but the resident believed to have been in the house had still not been found, according to Little Flock Fire Chief Moose Dunavan.
Dangerous conditions hampered firefighters’ efforts at the house fire just east of North Dixieland Road.
Little Flock police were alerted to the fire shortly after 1:30 a.m. Friday.
Officer Cody Lynge responded and said he saw the flames rising above the trees as he crossed the low-water bridge on North Dixieland Road.
The garage was engulfed in flames when he arrived, Lynge said.
“There was thick black smoke,” Lynge said, adding he got a man away from the house.
The man was transported to an area hospital. He told firefighters his wife was still in the house. Firefighters searched the house, but as of sunset Monday, had been unable to find her.
When police arrived, Dunavan said, “There was a fully involved basement, smoke throughout the house and fire in what appeared to be the living room area.”
The house is a total loss, Dunavan said. He has been fighting fires for 25 years and has been chief since 2005. “We’ve never had a situation like this,” he said.
He said the home has a basement and the ground-level floor was collapsing. He said it was not safe to send firefighters in.
The closest hydrant is too far away to lay hose, so all water was brought in by tanker trucks, he said.
The Little Flock, Pea Ridge and Rogers fire departments worked on the scene.
The Beaver Lake Fire Department provided a tanker with water.
Firefighters remained on the scene Friday night, Dunavan said, and will continue to watch to prevent the fire from spreading due to the windy and dry conditions.
By late Friday, he said the house had totally collapsed and mostly books and other items from inside the house were burning.