Mom, firefighters save home

Gainesville Volunteer Fire Chief Ed Doiron, left, and Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Hannaford carry a fan to a smoldering home on Harlin Drive in Gainesville late Monday night. Caney Mountain VFD responded in mutual aid to the structure fire reported at 11:07 p.m. When firefighters arrived, no flames were showing, but the modular home was filled with smoke. Resident Jennifer Stage said she had fallen asleep on the couch when her dog’s barking awakened her to find smoke billowing out of a bedroom. She quickly closed the bedroom door and woke up her four children, put them in her pickup and parked the truck across the road before moving the children to a neighbor’s home up the hill. Dorion said firefighters extinguished the fire with a minimal amount of water, and the fire was brought under control at 11:40 p.m. Assistant Chief John Russo determined that the fire was the result of a faulty electrical cord. Doiron said that by closing the bedroom door when she did, Stage contained the fire to that one room and, as a result, the rest of the house had heavy smoke and heat damage but no fire damage. Firefighter Jake Russo removed two small dogs from the smoke-filled house and reunited them with their owner.