Community solicits help for fire victims
Multiple ambulances were dispatched to the White Oak Station in Pea Ridge Wednesday, Nov. 4, to care for five people injured in a structure fire in rural McDonald County, Mo., just north of Pea Ridge. Ambulances from Pea Ridge, Bella Vista and Rogers were dispatched to the White Oak Station on South Curtis Avenue.
Matthew and Talina McDonald were preparing for their day Wednesday, Nov. 4, when an explosion rocked their home which caught fire. There were seven people in the home at the time. All escaped.
Missouri fire marshal investigator Grant Wheeler was on the scene early Wednesday morning to determine the cause of the fire. Wheeler said he is based out of Mt. Vernon. He has not yet released the results of his investigation.
The McDonald’s residence in rural Washburn, Mo., is eight miles north of Pea Ridge, which has the closest ambulance.
Fire Chief Danny Dalton said the fire chief of White Rock, Mo., Fire Department was the first on the scene. Dalton said the house was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.
Rogers Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said the victims were driven from the explosion scene to the White Oak Station in Pea Ridge.
Chief Dalton said the closest ambulance to the rural area is Pea Ridge Fire-EMS and the next option would be for a Freeman ambulance to be dispatched from Noel, Mo.
Talina McDonald is an employee of the Pea Ridge School District. Their children, Madison and Noah, attend school in Pea Ridge. Also in the home Wednesday morning were the McDonald’s elder daughter, Kadense, her boyfriend, Gavin Blake, and Noah’s friend, Jayden Spillman.
Kadense worked at the Pea Ridge Cafe.
Madison is hospitalized in a children’s hospital in Texas. Talina is hospitalized in Springfield, Mo., and is in stable condition in the ICU. Jayden is hospitalized in Springfield, Mo.
Several GoFundMe accounts have been created for the McDonalds and the two young men. Pea Ridge Cafe dedicated all profits earned on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to help the family and have a donation box set up. Multiple businesses are holding fundraisers
to help the victims.
Shane Allen with Bill’s Electric in Lowell has joined with Smokin’ Hawg to sell ribs to collect funds for the McDonald family.
Jack and Joyce Bartley have set up a GoFundMe account for their grandson, Gavin Blake, saying he lost everything in the fire.
The Pea Ridge Fraternal Order of Police held a fundraiser at the high school football game Friday and has set up an account at Arvest for the fire victims. The Cannonball diner held a fundraiser this week. A fifth-grade football game has been dedicated as a fundraiser for the family. There are donation jars at several businesses in the area. There are school fundraisers set up.
Pea Ridge Fire-EMS transported a 17-year-old female to an area hospital, according to Fire Chief Jack Wassman. Bella Vista and Rogers ambulances transported two persons to landing zones for helicopter ambulances which landed at the Police Department station and in the parking lot at Ace Hardware, just north of the scene.
Rogers ambulance also transported an adult male to the hospital, according to Wassman.
“Between Pea Ridge, Bella Vista, Rogers, both Lifeline 1 and Lifeline 5, everybody worked together very, very well. Good hand-off on patients, all paramedics did a great job getting them — burn patients — to definitive care,” Wassman said.
At 5:36 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, Pea Ridge Police were dispatched to the area of the White Oak Station to assist multiple fire departments, according to Lt. Michael Lisenbee, public information officer.
“Our requested assistance was to provide traffic control while first responders rendered emergency care to multiple victims of a house fire that occurred in Missouri. Clearing any confusion on the matter, the Pea Ridge Police Department is not currently involved with any criminal investigations pertaining to the event that occurred in Missouri,” Lisenbee said.
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