Personnel from four Texas County fire departments responded last Wednesday evening to a blaze that wiped out a house on Highway 32 about seven miles west of Licking.
Licking Fire Department Chief Jimmy Sherrill said four trucks and 10 firefighters from his department responded after the call came in at about 5 p.m. Three other departments provided mutual aid, as Raymondville, Roby and Houston Rural all sent equipment and manpower.
But despite the sizable response, the house was a total loss.
“It was gone by the time we got there,” said Houston Rural FD Chief Don Gaston.
During the effort to snuff the flames, a propane bottle exploded.
“It startled everybody,” Sherrill said. “Then it sounded like a blowtorch going off in there.”
Sherrill said nobody was home inside the single-story dwelling. He said the cause of the blaze isn’t certain, but might have been related to electrical wiring.