Election officer’s home destroyed in Election Day blaze
In a heartbreaking turn of events, Osage County Clerk Rhonda Beets learned Tuesday early afternoon that her home had caught fire and four local fire stations were assisting in extinguishing the blaze. Beets, the Osage County Election Officer, was busy at work in the courthouse handling Election Day responsibilities when she learned of the fire.
Osage County Fire District 3 – Melvern, was dispatched around noon to a single family dwelling just south of the intersection at K-31 and S. Jordan Road, a little more than two miles west of Melvern. Fire Chief Gary Kitt was unavailable for comment at press time, but Coffey County Waverly Station 7 Fire Chief Steve McCurry said mutual aid was requested, and Waverly, Lyndon, Vassar and Osage City fire departments sent trucks and manpower.
McCurry said Osage County Fire District 2 – Osage City, sent an aerial truck, and with four tankers on scene, firefighters were using an estimated 3,000 gallons of water every 15 minutes. He said each tanker was refilled four to five times, with an estimated 30,000-35,000 gallons being used to extinguish the fire.
McCurry said the cause of the fire had not been determined by late afternoon, and Melvern firefighters remained on scene hours after the fire was extinguished. No injuries resulted from the fire.
“In all appearances, it is a total loss,” McCurry said. “When we got on scene, it was totally engulfed.”
No additional information was available at press time.
Beets was re-elected as county clerk Tuesday. She was unopposed in the general election after winning her seat in the primary.
