Gift cards after Blake & Sarah Furlow house fire will be appreciated
Du Quoin firemen returned to the scene of the Blake and Sarah Furlow home Tuesday morning trying to find some clue as to what may have caused the fire that destroyed their home Monday night. The cause is being listed as undetermined as the couple and their sons--Wyatt, age 5 and Eli, age 6--begin to put their lives back together.
Blake works for a coal company in Coulterville. Sarah is a Du Quoin firefighter. Instead of clothing and personal items, you can help by purchasing gift cards at the local Wal-Mart or Kroger as well as any of the Southern Illinois restaurants or department stores and dropping them off at the Du Quoin Fire Department in the coming days. You can also make a cash donation to the family. Make your check out to Blake & Sarah Furlow and drop it by the fire department, as well. Attach a note if you like with your sentiments. Sarah will pick up the gift cards there. This way, the Furlows can buy what they need as time goes on.
The loss was insured. Also, the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Du Quoin will take offerings during masses on Feb. 2 & 3 for the Furlows, who are members of Sacred Heart.
Firefighters from Du Quoin were joined by fire departments from Tamaroa, Sesser, Dowell and Coello in fighting a 7:53 p.m. fire that destroyed the Blake and Sara Furlow home just east of the Old Du Quoin blacktop Monday night.
The home is only a year old. Fire Chief Bob Shaw said Blake Furlow was home asleep in the back of the home. His family was next door at Sara's parents' home. Sara is actually a volunteer fireman in the department.
Blake was awakened by the sound of a smoke detector, found the front of the home in flames and escaped through the rear of the home.
Du Quoin firefighter Adam Hill said, "They talk about a house being fully involved. It's usually just a room. But, this house was fully involved."
The house sits at the end of a lane by itself and firefighters refilled their trucks from a hydrant on East Jackson Street Road east of the Du Quoin Middle School, then trucked it back to the scene and dumped it into a collapsible water reservoir. Firefighters then pumped the water forward to trucks fighting the fire.
Desoto firefighters manned the Du Quoin station. Firemen cleared the scene at 11:18 p.m. as temperatures headed down into the teens and returned this morning to examine the site in the daylight. No cause has been determined.