Local woman thanks firefighters for saving home

A Stephens County woman credited swift action by the Breckenridge Fire Department and the Hubbard Creek Fire Department for saving her home from a Sunday night blaze that gutted a nearby property.

The Stephens County emergency personnel were dispatched to  the Breezy Point area around 10:30 p.m. Sunday night after a neighbor smelled smoke.

“I said, ‘I smell something burning,’” Mona Craig said. “[My husband] thought it was the furnace and I said ‘No, smell outside.’ He looked out and the fire was going next door.”

Craig said when she looked outside, she saw her neighbor’s vacant home engulfed in flames.

“I give every praise to this fire department because they got here quick,” Craig said. “I thought, if they do not get here quick it’s over, our house is gone. The flames were flying, sparks were flying.”

In a statement issued by Breckenridge Fire Chief Calvin Chaney, the BFD dispatched tankers 96 and 94 (city pumper) to a home in the Breezy Point area to knock down the significant flames and protect Craig’s home. Four additional trucks later responded along with additional men and support from the Hubbard Creek. Chaney described the aftermath as a total loss.

“We could see it from town,” Chaney said. “…. That house was fully engulfed and our immediate thinking was protect where it was going and we didn’t want it to go to the house next door. It was an immediate danger.”

Chaney credited saving Craig’s home and other nearby property to having the right equipment and manpower. He briefly loaned one of the hoses to the Craigs.

“I talked to them at the very start and threw them a hose over the fence from one of our small trucks,” Chaney said. “Their yard was full of leaves so I said ‘Use it if you need it. We’re going to get this house under control. If you see something spot over here, use it if you have to.’ They were happy we saved their house.”