John and Heather Irving are thanking God they were able to wake up this morning, quickly gather their three children and escape from their Ark City home just before it was destroyed by fire.
“My wife had seen a bright light at the back of the house and woke me up. My first thought was to get everyone out of the house and try to put out the fire,” John Irving said this morning as he stood a few feet from the charred remains of his home at 1313 South L. “But by the time I ran through the house there were already flames shooting out the side of the house. With 45 seconds to a minute the house was fully engulfed in flames.”
The home and two vehicles – including a 2016 Ford Mustang the family recently purchased – were completely destroyed by the fire.
The couple, though, said they were just grateful their family escaped unharmed. One pet is thought to have perished in the fire.
Firefighters were called to the report of the house fire around 12:40 a.m. Fire officials said strong winds enabled the fire to spread very quickly and caused an issue for firefighters trying to control the blaze. An official cause remains under investigation.
Crews from Winfield and Udall were called to the scene to assist. It took a few hours to bring the fire completely under control. A small crew remained at the scene this morning to monitor any flare ups.
The family was able to stay with family that lives close by in south Ark City. The Irvings have owned the home for sometime and had used it as a rental property.
They moved back in about a year ago and had been remodeling the residence.
