Fire destroys home of local veterinarian

Blaze claims 2 cats; 1 cat, 3 dogs saved

Smoking debris at the home of Kitty Barnett, 3710 State Road KK, is all that remains after a fire erupted at 9:30 p.m. Thursday. Barnett, a Fulton veterinarian, and her son Travis were at home when the fire started. They were not injuried but two cats died in the fire.
Smoking debris at the home of Kitty Barnett, 3710 State Road KK, is all that remains after a fire erupted at 9:30 p.m. Thursday. Barnett, a Fulton veterinarian, and her son Travis were at home when the fire started. They were not injuried but two cats died in the fire.

The rural home of Fulton veterinarian Kitty Barnett was destroyed after a fire erupted at 9:30 p.m. Thursday.

No injuries were reported in the blaze.

"I heard a loud pop," Barnett said, "I think the fire may have been caused by an electrical malfunction. The fire started in the living room near an electrical power strip."

Barnett was at home with her son Travis when the fire started. "It moved so fast. We tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher but the fire spread so rapidly. My son and I made it out the door OK and called 911," Barnett said.

Barnett said she and her son were able to save three dogs and one cat but two cats perished in the blaze.

"I wasn't able to save much of anything. It's all gone. I didn't even get my purse," Barnett said.

Greg Luebbert, chief of the Central Callaway Fire Protection District, said when firemen arrived the owners were safe outside and about 80 percent of the structure was ablaze.

"The roof and first floor were collapsing into the basement. The condition of the structure required firefighters to fight defensively from the exterior. The home was at the end of a narrow one-half mile lane with the nearest water source five miles away," Luebbert said.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.