This story shows the importance of having and practicing a home fire escape plan.
Read this story at The Boot.
Trace Adkins' home in Brentwood, Tenn., south of Nashville, burned to the ground on Saturday (June 4). The house was a total loss, however no one was hurt. The country singer's wife, Rhonda, was returning home from running errands and saw "black smoke" in the sky and rushed home.
Daughter Brianna, along with the couple's two other daughters, the babysitter and another neighborhood child were watching a movie and heard a huge crash. They thought it might have been something that had fallen in the cabinets in the kitchen. When the babysitter walked into the kitchen, she didn't see anything and went into the garage, where she saw that the dryer had been turned over, and fire and smoke permeated the air. The babysitter quickly got the children and the dogs out of the house and called 9-1-1.
Apparently, the girls had put into action the safety plan they had practiced in case there was a fire, and in fact, they had placed a marker, a big piece of yellow tape, on a tree far enough from the house as a safe place to go if their house ever caught on fire.
In losing most of the contents in the home, Rhonda told Nashville's WSMV-TV, the local NBC affiliate, "It's just stuff." She went on to say she'll miss some of the "artifacts that had great memories, but they're just going to have to be in my mind now." She added that they're nothing compared to the safety of her family.
The entire Brentwood Fire Department, including off-duty firefighters, was called to the home of the singer after it was reported at 3:35 PM, and were said to have arrived five minutes later. Dispatchers sent everyone they could to be able to rotate their personnel often, because of the high temperatures, of not only the fire, but of just how hot it was outside. Crews will be on the scene most of the evening to make sure the fire is completely extinguished.
The Brentwood Fire Chief told WSMV that everything stored in the basement, including gold albums and other belongings, were saved. The fire did not reach the basement, but there was a lot of water to try and put out the fire. Most of the belongings there had been elevated so it most likely did not receive any water damage either.
"Trace wishes to express his gratitude for the immediate response of the Brentwood Fire Department and is humbled by the outpouring of concern from friends and fans," a spokesperson for Trace told The Boot in a statement released late Saturday night.
At the time of the fire, Trace was en route to Alaska, where he was scheduled to perform later this week. Upon landing, he learned of the tragedy and immediately boarded a return flight home.
