Blaze chases family from rental home

Jan. 4--BEARDSTOWN -- A residential fire Monday left a Beardstown family in need of clothes and other household necessities, as well as a place to live.

Beardstown Fire Department received a call around 7 a.m. Monday about a residential fire in the 1300 block of Washington Street. With help from the Arenzville Fires Department, they were able to contain the fire to the one home, Beardstown Fire Chief Brian Becker said.

Becker said the family that was living in the house -- Ryan and Nicole Wessel and their children, Trent, 12; and Les, 19 -- managed to get out unharmed and without assistance. The fire department still is investigating the cause of the fire, which Becker said resulted in a lot of smoke damage.

According to a GoFundme account set up by Christopher Krohe, the son of the Wessels' landlords, the house will need to be torn down and the Wessels do not have renter's insurance.

Krohe said the fire started in the bathroom and everyone in the family was asleep when the house started to fill with smoke. Parts of the fence the Wessels shared with Krohe's parents had to be torn down so firefighters could better access the scene. Krohe said his father already has worked to temporarily fix the fence and got part of the house boarded up.

The Gofundme was set up to help the Wessels pay for housing and to replace what they lost in the blaze. Immediate needs include clothing, though furniture and other household necessities also will be needed. The family also lost all of its Christmas presents.

The Gofundme page has a goal of $5,000; as of Friday afternoon, $180 has been raised from six donations.

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