As thick wisps of smoke drifted across Jefferson Street, 10 year-old Ashley Crum held her small Yorkie, Furby, in her arms. Drapped in a coat that reached to her feet and was too large for her still-small frame, the Lincoln Elementary School student stared across the street to the northwest corner of Maple and Jefferson. There stood her home, but not as she once knew it.

    The home’s frame was now gray from soot and fire damage, wet from fire hoses and empty of all contents as they had been digested by large flames.

    Crum says she and her brother Jordan Roberts were the only people in the home at the time. Wide-eyed and shaking she retold her story.

    “We were in the kitchen and I looked and we heard stuff falling and we looked through the window and we saw a fire. Alls I saw was smoke and the light from the fire and something fire. I said fire and me and my brother ran out of the house,” she said. “When we ran out there was a lady out there and we ran across the street,”

    Crum’s mother, Tiffany Crum was out of town at the time of the fire and was in tears upon returning and seeing her home in shambles.

    Her mother, Melanie Pierce, who stayed close to her granddaughter, Ashley, said the family would “have plenty of places to stay.”

    Wellington Fire Chief John Lloyd said when fire crews arrived shortly after 7:30 p.m., the west side and back of the house were engulfed in flames, with the fire quickly spreading because of the quick Kansas winds. The wind was carrying embers and debris to neighboring homes just north and the emphasis was then placed in keeping the fire contained.

    “We knew we could not make an entrance into the house...so we pulled a line off the Quint to protect the other houses because we knew we couldn’t save this one, it was already gone,” said Lloyd.

    Though numerous firefighters responded, the fire blazed and roared through the home and first responders could do nothing to save it. Pulling in all the engines from the fire station, water was fed to the fire from all directions, Lloyd said.

    Using several water lines, the chief said the department had a hard time because of the low amounts of water and water pressure in the area.  

    Three departments helped respond to the fire — the Wellington Fire Department, Mayfield Fire Department and Sumner County District No. 9, Belle Plaine. Mayfield brought three firefighters, Belle Plaine had six and Wellington had a total of 16 — nearly all of the department.

    “Everybody is here right now. Everyone is committed to this fire right here,” said Lloyd.

    A second house fire two doors north of the original fire was reported around 10 p.m., though it was quickly contained.

    Fire crews will work throughout the night to check the home for hot spots while fire investigators will be working Saturday to determine the cause of the blaze.

    The warm, windy night only reminded Lloyd of the upcoming Winter fire season ahead. Under the flash of fire engine lights and looking at the once loved home, Lloyd wasn’t optimistic about the upcoming season.

    “This could be a long house fire season for us. Winter time is our house fire season and this is just the start of it right here,” Lloyd said.