Written by Emily Stinnett // Photo provided by Mason Shappley
The home of seven students caught fire on 709 E. Race Ave. caught fire on the morning of Oct. 19.
Senior Mason Shappley woke up to the smoke alarm going off at around 6:15 a.m. At first, he thought the alarm had malfunctioned, but he could smell smoke, so he knew something was wrong.
Shappley was living with seniors Justin Green, Adam Dawidow, Jack Bobo, Connor Manry, Jackson Keller and Blake Dale in a rented house known to students as “the Middle School” or “White Castle.” All housemates are members of men’s social club Knights.
After rousing, Shappley said he woke up his roommates yelling the house was on fire. They noticed the smoke was coming from the kitchen, but they could not see any flames. They opened windows and doors to let the smoke out of the house and continued to investigate where the smoke was coming from.
Shappley tried to turn on the shower to create steam, yet the water did not work. He also said he heard what sounded like rain coming from outside by the deck, which was a burst water pipe from underneath the house. He then saw smoke billowing out between the countertop and the dishwasher. Shappley dialed 911. The men left the house for safety while waiting for the fire department to arrive.
The fire department located the flames underneath the house and used chainsaws to cut holes under and on the side of the house, Shappley said. They extinguished the fire and continued searching for any remaining flames inside the house by tearing off countertops and tearing out the dishwasher and the sink to ensure there were no more flames.
Shappley said he and his housemates later learned an electrical short in the kitchen had caught fire underneath the house. The heat from the flames caused a water pipe to burst, extinguishing most of the fire and preventing the fire from spreading and destroying the deck or causing more damage.
“We were super lucky because none of our belongings were destroyed and because we found [the fire] pretty quickly,” Shappley said.
Their landlord does not live in Searcy, so the property manager helped them by placing plywood on the deck for safety. There is a hole in the kitchen wall and most of the kitchen is destroyed.
Shappley said the house smelled awful for three to four days, and they have been using seven air purifying machines to clean the air. They are still living in the house because their rooms were not damaged. The kitchen is the only unusable space for the time being.
“I think fire was never something that was on my radar,” Shappley said. “We knew that there were some random issues like mold or the desk being very decrepit … I never expected fire to be something to worry about.”
Dale did not hear the smoke detector and was woken by Shappley. He was confused to wake up to so much smoke and assumed the stove had been left on. Dale is thankful the fire was not as bad as it could have been.
“I’m thankful that no one got hurt and that the fire department was very quick,” Dale said.
Senior David Martinez was working at Midnight Oil, a few houses down from the Knights’ house. He said he and his coworkers heard the sirens coming down the street and were curious why they were out so early in the morning. He later found out what happened and thought it had to be scary and alarming.
“It was crazy for that to happen to someone you know,” Martinez said.
The men are now waiting for renovations to begin on their kitchen and have created a makeshift kitchen with a George Foreman Grill, air fryer, microwave and rice cooker.
