The home of Bear and Josh Jenkins caught fire last Thursday afternoon, March 5. The fire department responded to the call at roughly 3:45 p.m., and had the fire put out a little after 4 p.m.
According to Chief Tim Buness, with the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department, an unattended candle was likely the cause of the fire at the Jenkins' residence last week.
A Wrangell home caught fire last week, and firefighters suspect a candle is to blame. The fire occurred around 3:45 p.m. last Thursday. The residence, home to Jim "Bear" Jenkins and his son Josh Jenkins, is located on Second Street, next door to the Irene Ingle Public Library. The Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call quickly, and had the fire put out shortly after 4 p.m. Nobody was home when the fire began however, the Jenkins' dog, Rowdy, was inside at the time. Fortunately, Rowdy was rescued by firefighters with no injuries.
"We were at the house about half an hour prior to this," said Bear. "We've been working on my son Josh's boat, the Sylvia, and we got a phone call that the house might be on fire and we came up here."
The only injuries sustained during the incident were some cuts to Jenkins' hand, sustained trying to get into the house to rescue Rowdy, which were treated at the hospital.
Fire Chief Tim Buness said that they suspect an unattended candle was the start of the fire. He said that what probably happened was the candle was lit, the residents got distracted, and they left without blowing it out.
Several community members have organized support for the Jenkins family. J&W's, the burger restaurant, altered their schedule to open on Monday, March 9, to hold a benefit for them. An account for the family has also been set up at Angerman's, for anyone wishing to donate money. Teacher and basketball coach Laurie Brown has organized a meal train, too, where people can sign up to prepare meals for the Jenkins on different days which can be found at https://mealtrain.com/8g2k7n.
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