• Christina Burke - Victoria Advocate
• Originally published May 30, 2008 at 11:14 p.m., updated May 30, 2008 at 11:14 p.m.

A young mother was home alone with her 3-month-old baby when she heard a loud explosion.

Kendra Welch, 19, ran outside to find that the barn behind the home where she, her husband Thomas Thompson, 31, and three children lived at the 9600 block of U.S. Highway 87 North, just south of Nursery, was engulfed in flames.

“I gotta get out of here and get some help,” she said were her first thoughts after seeing the barn engulfed in flames.

The single alarm fire was fully involved when the fire departments from both Nursery and Victoria arrived, said Victoria Fire Department Battalion Chief Roger Hempel.

The fire, which was spreading from the barn to the house, was put out within 15 minutes. There were no injuries reported.

Investigators are still searching for the cause of the fire that completely destroyed the barn and caused smoke damage within the adjacent home.

“We are unable at this time to say what caused it, since there was so much damage,” Hempel said.

After one month of living in the rental home, they are now being evicted, said Thompson, a self-employed contractor. “I couldn’t believe that (the owner) would do that....”

Unsure of where they were going to stay Friday night, the couple is now worried they might be evicted from the home they’ve been renting for the last month.

“Accidents do happen and that’s why I paid for the insurance. It stumps me that he tells me to salvage what I can and get out. I’ve got three kids and no place to live. How am I supposed to find a place to live in a matter of an hour? I just don’t know what to do right now. I don’t even know what my options are. It’s all I had and now I don’t have nothing,” he said.

Attempts to reach the owner for comment were unsuccessful.

Before leaving the house, Welch took one last sweep through to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anything for her 3-month-old son, “...formula, diapers, wipes, clothes, blankets,” she rattled off.

Christina Burke is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6516 or cburke@vicad.com or to comment on this story go to www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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