One of Joseph City’s finest homes went up in flames last Saturday evening as firefighters fought throughout the evening to battle the blaze that quickly enveloped the 4,000-square foot house. The call went out to the Joseph City Volunteer Fire Department at around 9:15 p.m. on Jan. 3 to 8159 N. Shelley Ave., but the house was already fully engulfed, with flames visible from blocks away.
According to Chief Rusty DeSpain, firefighters saved some of the belongings in the home, but aside from keeping the fire from spreading to other areas, there was little else that could be done.
“I want to thank the fire departments of Holbrook, Winslow and Snowflake, as well as Holbrook EMS, that sent out personnel to assist us with this fire; we couldn’t have done it without them,” stated DeSpain.
The efforts of firefighters were hampered by cold weather that froze the water being used to control the blaze. One Joseph City firefighter was transported to a nearby hospital after sustaining a shoulder injury from a fall on the ice and another was treated on the scene after a fall.
“We logged 15 hours on that fire and without the assistance of those other departments, we wouldn’t have been able to rotate our firefighters. We owe them a debt of gratitude,” he said.
The house is owned by Casey and Debra Fish, but has been unoccupied for several years after the family relocated to Texas, although members of the family come to town and stay in the home on occasion. According to DeSpain, the family had been in the home recently, leaving the day before the fire occurred.
“We’ve ruled the fire as accidental/undetermined. From video surveillance we were able to determine that the fire began smoldering about two hours before the flames started. We know where it started, but it burned so hot that we can’t really determine exactly what started it,” said DeSpain.
