July 09--CADDO -- A man escaped his burning home early Tuesday at 571 Lawrence County 372 by climbing out a bedroom window.
Jason Jones, chief of the Hillsboro Area Volunteer Fire Department, said the only resident, Chris Hensley, told him he awakened choking from the smoke.
"He said he grabbed a pillow, put it over his face and climbed out the window," Jones said.
Jones said firefighters responded to the call at 2:27 a.m.
Kenneth Whitlow, chief at Caddo-Midway, said he was among firefighters from his unit who first arrived at the single-story, wood-frame house.
"The house was pretty well fully involved when we got there," Whitlow said. "It was totally destroyed. We cleared about 5 a.m."
Whitlow said the cause of the fire has not been determined.
Jones said water had to be shuttled from a nearby hydrant.
"We used an estimated 5,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire," he said. "One of our guys drove a truck back and forth to shuttle, and our other personnel assisted Caddo on the scene."
Jones said Hensley, who had family members at the scene, was not injured.
"He told me he had insurance," Jones said.
Ronnie Thomas can be reached at 256-340-2438 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @DD_RonnieThomas.
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