Home Destroyed After Tuesday Morning Blaze

A Schulenburg family lost their home in a fire early Tuesday morning, Aug. 11. A fundraiser has been set up to assist the family

Fernando and Marcy Juarez and their son Benito escaped with their dog and the clothes on their backs. They were able to save two of their four vehicles. The fire claimed everything else. Fernando, a woodworker, and Marcy, a seamstress, lost all of their tools and supplies for their two home businesses. The property was not insured.

“Everything’s gone. We have to start over from scratch,” Fernando told the Record on Tuesday.

The property was located at 1207 Kessler Avenue (US 77), just south of the old Stanzel Factory building that now houses Corinth Baptist Church.

Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department received the call around 3:15 a.m. The department responded with about 25 firefighters and seven fire trucks.

“I was the first one on scene, and it was fully engulfed when I got there,” said Schulenburg Fire Chief Jeff Proske. ”Fire was coming out of every window and every eave. At that point, the focus was on protecting the two other structures.”

Proske said a home to the south of the Juarez property was beginning to smoulder. In addition, extreme heat from the blaze started a small fire inside the wall of the old Stanzel building to the north. Firefighters concentrated their efforts on those two buildings until the department’s ladder truck arrived.

“Once the ladder truck got there, we were able to start dumping a lot of water on the main fire and got it under control,” Proske said.

City of Schulenburg workers responded with a backhoe, which was used to break apart a burning floor cavity that firefighters could not reach. Fayette County EMS also responded. They assisted one firefighter who briefly became overheated. Proske said he quickly recovered and there were no other injuries.

Schulenburg Police and Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputies shut down traffic on US 77.

“That was a big help, because we had to set up on the highway,” Proske said.

Proske said the fire appeared to have started in the woodshop behind the house, but he didn’t know the exact cause. He said Schulenburg Fire Marshall Steve Strickland would investigate the cause.

Fernando said he and his family would move in with a friend temporarily while they rebuild. Many in the community have already donated clothing and other supplies.

Those wishing to help can contact Marcy Juarez at (979) 743-1459 to find out what they still need. A fundraiser has also been set up on Facebook. Go to https://bit.ly/3xEVtHd to make a donation.