Fire Destroys Home In Schulenburg Sunday

A wood-frame home in Schulenburg burned late Sunday night, Jan. 17.

Schulenburg Fire Chief Jeff Proske said his department received the call around 11:45 p.m. The home was located on South Street in the southwest corner of town. The home was situated about halfway down South Street between St. John Road and the old city dump, also known as “The Boneyard.”

Proske said a neighbor called 911 reporting the wall of the home on fire.

Proske said one man lived in the house and he was renting it from the owners, but the resident was not home when the fire started.

“When we got there it was fully engulfed,” Proske said. “Fire was coming out of all the windows and the eves of the house.”

Proske said his department had to fight the fire from some distance away until a City of Schulenburg crew arrived to shut off electricity to the house. Once that was accomplished, Proske said firefighters were able to quickly put out the blaze.

The home was largely destroyed, however. The man who lived in the house arrived as firefighters were putting it out. Proske said the fire appeared to have started in the corner of a room. However, he said the resident reported that there were no electrical devices, heaters or anything plugged in at that location.

“It’s going to be hard to tell what started it because the house was gutted,” Proske said. “Its just a bunch of ashes now, unfortunately. We don’t even know how long it was burning before we got there.”

Firefighters left the scene around 12:30 a.m.