CUNNINGHAM, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Tuesday morning house fire on Smith Place Road has left a family homeless. Multiple units were dispatched to the scene early Tuesday morning, just after 4:30 a.m.
The water system in the Cunningham Utility District has 2-inch water mains, and fire hydrants require 4-inch water mains, firefighters told the family. The volunteer firefighters’ only option was to make multiple trips between the house and the fill station with three tankers until the flames were out, which took several hours.
No injuries were reported. However, the family, Jordan and Chelsea Flake, along with their 6 boys, lost everything in the fire, according to neighbor and friend of the family, Omega Kimoto.
“It’s very sad,” Kimoto told Clarksville Now.
A GoFundMe has been set up for the family and has already raised over $7,500. In addition, Kimoto says that the family’s church and other neighbors have stepped in to help by donating food and clothing.
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“Immediately when the community found out, they were calling to help. We couldn’t ask for a better community,” Kimoto said.
An official cause of the fire has not been released, but volunteer firefighters told the family the fire may have been started by a heat lamp.