Fire destroys area home

SILOAM SPRINGS -- Fire destroyed the home of Leland Dale Dannels at 19091 Bill Young Road, near Siloam Springs, on Thursday.

The Gallatin, Siloam Springs, Gentry and Highfill Fire Departments responded to the blaze which was reported about noon on Thursday. A chimney was about all that remained of the home when firefighters extinguished the flames. Fire crews were called back to the fire on Friday morning because the flames in the burnt-out home had rekindled.

Dannels, who is a Vietnam veteran, and his daughter lived in the house but were away from home at the time of the fire. Neighbors spotted the blaze and called 911, but the single-story home was fully engulfed by the time fire crews arrived on the scene. Two small dogs and a cat, family pets, were in the house and did not escape the flames.

Dannels called the pets "his babies" and said their loss is hitting them "kind of hard."

The cause of the blaze was yet undetermined on Friday, according to Gallatin Fire Chief Don Lawson. He said he suspected the wood stove, but that had not been confirmed. He said he would be contacting the fire marshal on Friday.

The Red Cross provided Dannels and his daughter a motel room on Thursday and Friday nights, but Dannels said he didn't know where they would stay after that.

Dannels, a diabetic, lost his medical equipment and supplies in the fire, along with all his household goods. He had no insurance, "through no fault of his own," he said. Some area churches had already contacted him Thursday, offering assistance with clothes and other needs.

Dannels attends Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Siloam Springs. Donations can be given to him through the church, according to Pastor Eugene "Chip" Reagan. The church is located at 1719 S. Mt. Olive, Siloam Springs. The church phone number is 524-3628.