Five fire departments and the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Department responded to a house fire at 346 Private Road 821, Bay City, near Blessing, at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4.
The units answering the call were the Blessing, Midfield, Palacios, Markham and Bay City volunteer fire departments.
The Sheriff’s Office asked for assistance in the fire investigation from Bay City Fire Marshal Dan Shook.
The homeowners, Michael Byrn and Lacey Shindler, and their three children had just returned home from dinner to find smoke had filled the second floor and the smoke detectors were activated.
Shook said the homeowners said there was heavy smoke and fire in the attic area near the HVAC unit, which had been repaired earlier that day.
The five departments battled the blaze for five hours before it was extinguished, Shook said.
Byrn and Shindler said the fire initially burned for five hours, but reignited twice more, essentially burning for three days until around 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, when Bay City, Palacios and Midfield firefighters extinguished it with the assistance of the County Precinct with a backhoe.
No one was injured during the incident.
The insurance damage assessment is well over the damage estimated to be about $150,000, the homeowners said.
The cause of the fire was accidental due to overheated electrical equipment, Shook determined after performing a preliminary investigation.
“We would also like to add that we have been humbled by the overwhelming community response to the disaster and are filled with gratitude,” the homeowners said in a later statement.
