One dead after fire destroys trailer

It was the second fatal fire in June.

By Andrew Worrall

Published June 25, 2009

A residential fire destroyed a trailer and left its owner and dog dead Wednesday morning in southeastern Boone County.

A Boone County Fire Protection District news release stated district firefighters responded just before 7 a.m. to 7101 S. RayLea Lane after the owner called 911 and reported his home was on fire. The release stated the caller said he was unable to use his legs to walk or crawl out.

According to the release, heavy black smoke from the fire was visible from a mile away and the first engine arrived on scene within 10 minutes of the original dispatch. They reported that half the structure was aflame. 

“Fire was blowing out the front windows and door when our crews tried to make entry,” BCFPD Division Chief Gale Blomenkamp said.

Blomenkamp said after controlling the fire, volunteer firefighters located the victim, 57-year-old John Shettlesworth, inside on the floor near some furniture. He lived alone with his dog.

Blomenkamp said there were working smoke detectors in the home and the 911 operator could hear them in the background during the call. Shettlesworth never hung up on the operator.

The release stated six fire trucks, 26 firefighters and two ambulances from the University Hospital responded. The home is considered a total loss.

This fatal fire comes just 15 days after another residential structure fire destroyed a home in northern Boone County. Several family members made it out safely, but one was transported with serious burns to the hospital and another killed by the fire, according to an earlier BCFPD news release.

The earlier release said more than 40 firefighters responded to that fire, and it took nearly a half hour to bring the blaze under control. The home did not have any smoke detectors.

Blomenkamp said before these fires, the last fatal fire in Boone County was in 2004.

“It’s tough because when you get in this business, to fight fires, you get in it to put fires out, not to bring people out of them, a fire, when it’s too late,” Blomenkamp said. “These guys deal with it very well. We have a very good support system for them. We’ll make sure we take care of our people.”