Friday, November 28, 1997
Abilene man dies in Thanksgiving Day fire
By TANYA EISERER and BARTON CROMEENS / Abilene Reporter-News
An Abilene man and his two small dogs died in a two-alarm fire
that gutted his doublewide trailer in the Pleasant Hills Mobile
Home Park on Thanksgiving morning.
Stancel "Slim" Bassett, 64, of 325 Pleasant Hills
Dr., was pronounced dead at 1:10 p.m. by Justice of the Peace
Sam Matta. His body was taken to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's
Office for an autopsy because the cause of the fire could not
be determined, Matta said.
"We want to make sure he died from something fire-related,"
he said.
Marjorie, his wife, who had been visiting a family member in
a Midland hospital, was expected to return to Abilene Thursday
night.
Thirteen-year-old Amy Hughes discovered the fire about 10:25
a.m.
"She was going to tell them happy Thanksgiving,"
said Patricia Hughes, her mother.
When she approached the trailer, Amy Hughes' eyes immediately
began burning, and she noticed smoke was pouring from the trailer,
said Doris Bracy, Amy's aunt.
"That's when she ran home and told us," Bracy said.
"By the time we got back the flames were just going wild.
Meanwhile, Bassett's other neighbors also had noticed smoke
billowing from the mobile home.
"I saw Cole (Edmondson) go running out of his door, and
from the way he was looking, I knew that I should look too,"
said Joyce Smith, a next-door neighbor. "He just had this
look on his face. It was horrible. I stepped out and saw the smoke
coming out of the east corner of the house -- the side with the
kitchen and utility room."
She told her son, John Smith, to call 911.
"There were several of us running around the house, knocking
on windows and banging on the door, but no one responded to us,"
said John Smith, who lives in Schertz and was visiting his mother
for Thanksgiving.
"We were just fortunate that we got to it when we did,"
he added. "If we hadn't seen it and called (fire department)
before the blaze really got started, it probably would have gotten
our place."
Edmondson had also rushed to the Bassett trailer.
"I tried to get the front door open, when the flames kind
of jumped out at me, so I went to the back (door)," Edmondson
said. "I pried it open but I couldn't get too far -- maybe
five or six feet before the smoke was too thick and my lungs started
burning. I had no idea if anyone was home or not. I was just hollering
to see if I could get a response.
"There really wasn't nothing I could do -- nothing anybody
could do -- by the time anyone really noticed it (fire), it was
too late."
Firefighters arrived on the scene at 10:32 a.m. to find the
trailer fully involved. A second-alarm was called at 10:34 a.m.
"It spread fast because of the wind and that made it harder
to fight," said Asst. Fire Marshal Henry Davila. "There
were other trailers in jeopardy. They called a second alarm so
they could protect them while the other guys fought the fire."
Flames shot out of the windows, blackening the grass and nearly
reaching the chain link fence and two parked cars.
About 50 neighbors watched helplessly as firefighters battled
the blaze. Smoke poured out obscuring two parked cars and some
of the fire equipment before it dissipated.
Firefighters had the fire under control within about 15 minutes.
The blaze was tapped out at 12:33 p.m. By the time the fire was
put out, only a shell remained.
Fire officials believe the fire started in a back bedroom.
"It's completely destroyed that whole area," Fire
Lt. Randy Doan said. "It will be virtually impossible to
determine a cause (of the fire)."
Firefighters discovered the man's body in the dining room area
near the bar. Doan said it appears the victim was trying to escape
through the front door.
"With 35-40 mph winds, the whole thing was involved within
minutes," said Doan, a fire inspector. "There's not
much left.
Neighbors said the couple suffered from health problems. Mrs.
Bassett has a pacemaker and diabetes, they said.
Mr. Bassett, who was a chain smoker, had apparently suffered
from a work-related accident years ago, and more recently, from
a stroke, neighbors said.
He was in the hospital last week, they said.
"I'm always worried there's going to be an emergency out
here, and then it happened today of all days," Joyce Smith.
"I always expected it to be medical, though, not a fire."
Despite their poor health, the Bassetts had developed a strong
bond with Amy Hughes. She regularly attended the Southside Church
of God with them.
"Most times, they'd sit on their porch with their dogs
and drink iced tea. They just loved kids, " said Patricia
Hughes, her mother. "She went to Slim and Margie's all the
time. It became almost an everyday thing."
Sheila Becker, a friend and neighbor, said she expected Mrs.
Bassett to be "devastated" by the loss of her husband.
"Slim was real sweet," Becker said. "He hurt
most of the time. He was in a lot of pain but I can't imagine
any worse way to die."
Others were shocked such a tragic incident had occurred on
Thanksgiving.
"This is bad on any day, but especially on Thanksgiving.
Why does it always seem to happen on holidays?" said Curtis
Williams, a neighbor
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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