NEWS/OBIT: House fire 1967, Union County Date: Thursday, August 02, 2001 7:47 PM From: "Maria T." Subject: [KYF] NEWS/OBIT: House fire 1967, Union County NEWS/OBIT: House fire 1967, Union County (This happened 22 Dec. 1967. Emma Truman Hazel Brooks is my grandmother's older sister) Disaster of 67 Family loses Two Children, home and all possessions Christmas was a sad and dreary day filled with mixed emotions of thanksgiving for the surviving members of the Clayburn Brooks family of Sturgis. Early last Friday morning one daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Brooks was burned to death in a fire that completely destroyed their home and all of it's furnishings. Another daughter succumbed to the severe burns she received after being admitted to the Sturgis Community Hospital. The fire of undetermined origin that destroyed the two story frame home also placed the mother, Mrs. Emma Truman Brooks, 47, in the Sturgis Community Hospital with severe body burns and another daughter, Martha, 13, was listed as critical suffering with burns of the face, arms, and upper portions of her body. Dead are Grace Brooks, 10, who apparently died when the upstairs sections of the house collapsed before she could jump to safety along with the remainder of her family, and her sister Margaret, 15. Both girls were students at the Sturgis Junior High School. Grace was in the home room of Mrs. Beulah Ames and Margaret was in Mr. Chris Herdel's room. Five other members of the family received emergency treatment at the hospital and were released. They are Clayton Brooks Jr., and wife Bonnie Faye who were asleep on the second floor along with the three girls when the fire began, they were treated for minor lacerations received from broken glass in the jump from the second floor. James, 19, and Gary 9, who with their parents were asleep downstairs, and the father who was treated for facial burns. According to reports members of the family were all outside of the house when the local fire department arrived with the exception of 10 year old Grace. Firemen located her body about 2:30am when the blaze was brought under control. The alarm had been turned in at about 1:10am and according to one of the firemen, the house was completely engulfed in flames when the equipment reached it. The house is located just a few blocks from the downtown area on South Washington Street. James said he was awakened by the fire as it spread to the kitchen. He said he saw fire coming down out of the kitchen ceiling and along the walls. He wakened other members of the family, however, those asleep upstairs were unable to use the staircase because of the flames.They all barely made their escape in their night clothings and none of the family possessions were salvaged. Mr. Brooks wallet, the familys Christmas gifts, clothing, furniture, everything was destroyed. Fireman battling the blaze were Chief Ralph Williams, Assistant Chief Wilbur Belt, and volunteers J. W. Owens, Andy Cimprich, Oscar Norval, Jim Heffington, Alvin McWorthy, Bill Mellowy, Bob McCleary and Charles Foster. Others assisting were Mayor Charles Pryor, C. J. "Buck"Brown, James Holt, Fred Williams, Harold Wright, Bobby Wright and Bob McLaughlin. A spontaneous movement throughout the community of donations to the family began early Friday mornings as more and more people became aware of the family's tragedy. Approximately $2,000 in cash has been collected to date, in addition to a quantity of clothing. The county's radio station, WMSK also aired an appeal for donations to assist the family and response in many forms has been forthcoming from outlying areas. Rev. Curtis Warf, minister of the First Baptist Church along with Sturgis Police Chief Wayne Brown are administering the fund and donation may be made to the Clayborn Brooks Fund, P. O. Box 86, Sturgis, Kentucky 42459. Temporary housing for the family has been arranged. They are being moved into a small home in Grangertown owned by Jack Kuykendall. City gas has been connected to the property and some furniture has been obtained for the house. Funeral services for the two sisters were held at 2pm Sunday, at the First Baptist Church in Sturgis, Rev. Curtis Warf officiated. Burial was in the Pythian Ridge Cemetery. {This family had also lost a son 4 Aug 1958 from an accidental gun shooting} ********************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. **********************************************************************