Jonny Goodday | 8/26/2020 | Goodday Mineral Wells | The Wishing Well of Mineral Wells | MWFD Updates | Wishes
MINERAL WELLS, TX – On 08/26/2020, a devastating house fire on Southeast 17th Street occurred leaving a Mineral Wells Family in desperate need.
At 12:42 AM, the Mineral Wells Fire Department got a call from David Turner. His mother’s house had caught fire. David, 36, had woken to the smell of smoke. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw flames coming from the stove and heavy black smoke. He was the only one home at the time other than the family’s two dogs. David, a medically-retired firefighter and safety officer evacuated quickly. Unfortunately, he could not retrieve the dogs before leaving the house.
Shortly after his call, MWFD arrived. Heavy black smoke was coming out of the front door and flames were seen from the kitchen window. MWFD stepped into action and rescued the dogs safely.
The Goodday Mineral Wells team saw live footage of the event unfolding. It was captured by their neighbor, a local realtor, Mike Rankin. He was up late doing office work in the home he is renovating just a couple houses away when he started to hear sirens just outside.
“At first, I thought it was a disturbance, but then I saw the firetruck.”
Mike Went live on Facebook – here is what he saw:
Today, The Wishing Well of Mineral Wells team spoke with Michele Turner, the homeowner of the house that caught fire. Michele shares her home with her son and her mother. She works nights at PPGH, so she wasn’t there when the fire occurred.
“My son lives with me because he was injured when being struck by lightning seven years ago, and my mother, 88, lives with me, but she fell recently and is currently in rehab.”
The Turner family was in the process of painting her mother’s bedroom and converting the bathroom tub into a walk-in shower to make it more accessible before the fire occurred. The kitchen was completely destroyed, and the rest of the house is suffering from smoke damage, water damage, or both. All their clothes have been damaged.
“Smoke detectors save lives. Mr. Turner is very fortunate that he woke up to find this fire.”
Mike Pool, Fire Chief of Mineral Wells
Unfortunately, Michele did not have insurance on the house. The last time she looked for a quote, an insurer quoted her a $1,200/month premium and she wasn’t able to afford that. Mike Rankin spoke with Michele and gave her some advice on the homeowner’s insurance for the future after the house has been fixed. He said there is no way that her home should cost that much to insure and believes she was misquoted or the agency was trying to overcharge.
Images provided by David Turner:
A GoFundMe account has been created and all funds go directly to her as she is the GoFundMe account owner.
The Mineral Wells Center of Life will serve as a drop off location for clothes and other necessities that need to be replaced. To make donations, please let the Center of Life know the donations are for the Turner family. The drop-off location is 200 SW 5th St, Mineral Wells, TX 76067. Donations may be dropped off from 9AM – 3PM M-Th.
Beginning September 1st at 9AM, the Turner family will be working to move things out of the home. Volunteers would be greatly appreciated. To volunteer, arrive at 404 SE 17th st Sep 1st at 9AM.
UPDATE 9/01/2020: Due to rain, the time and day the family is moving things out of the home have been delayed.
“I felt love for her, and I know Mineral Wells is a real loving place, there’s a lot of people that care, and they will do anything they can to help.”
Mike Rankin
The Goodday Mineral Wells and Wishing Well team couldn’t agree more with Mike Rankin’s statement and have seen it firsthand. At this time, Michelle is asking for prayers as they face the challenges ahead.
Founder | Self-taught in all forms of creativity with a passion for photography of landscapes and architecture. Devoted to helping the Mineral Wells community.
