Nursery home catches fire a second time in 24 hours

Nov. 21--A home near Nursery caught fire for the second time in 24 hours early Wednesday morning.

The home was empty at the time, but the reignited fire caused additional damage to the interior of the house, said homeowners Janie and Ruben Wayne Martin.

The couple stood quietly outside their damaged home Wednesday morning, watching firefighters continuing to inspect the scene as they rearranged their Thanksgiving plans. The two had planned to go out of town to spend the holiday with family, but instead will stay in the area to deal with insurance claims and to start repairing their damaged home, Ruben Wayne Martin said.

The fire initially broke out at the home at 294 Dreyer Lane on Tuesday about 5:30 p.m., the Martins said. At the time, fire marshals believed that a heating unit inside the house had caused the flames. Firefighters and the Martins both thought the flames were extinguished Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning, when the Martins returned to their home to pack clothes and other essentials, the fire started again.

"We figured we would go in this morning, get clothes, stuff like that," Martin said.

Michael Carbajal, of the Victoria County Fire Marshal's Office, said the fire was a continuation of an electrical issue that could not be located Tuesday night. There was a short in two different places of the electrical line, Carbajal said.

"They've done everything they could," Martin said of the firefighters who battled the consecutive blazes. "I don't have any complaints. I think they've done a great job; it's just how it happens."

The Martins evacuated their home Tuesday night with their dogs, Chloe and Cotton, and spent the night in the neighboring home owned by Wayne Martin's late mother, he said. They plan to stay there while they begin repairing their home and have already received support and offers of food from members of their church, the Martins said.

The American Red Cross was also contacted to make arrangements with the family, Carbajal said.

Advocate reporter Kali Venable contributed to this report.

Ciara McCarthy covers local government for the Victoria Advocate as a Report for America corps member. You can reach her at [email protected] or at 580-6597 or on Twitter at @mccarthy_ciara.

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