By LeaAnne Klentzman
The tragic house fire that claimed the lives of three far west Fort Bend County women has been ruled accidental, possibly related to an electrical issue.
About noon last Thursday, a home near Orchard caught fire and burned to the ground claiming the lives of three women. When the fire broke out Joyce Carrington, 55, and her son Keevin Hernandez, 17, raced to get the children out of the home and away from the fire. With her two grandchildren, ages 5 and 10 and son safe outside, Joyce Carrington returned to the burning home to get her invalid mother and aunt. In the end, Joyce Carrington, her mother Dorothy Carrington, 80, and her aunt Goldie Wells, 90, did not survive the fire.
According to officials, Joyce Carrington was the caregiver for her mother, aunt, son and two grandchildren. All six lived in the brick and frame home in the 9900 block of Johnson Road west of Rosenberg between Orchard and Simonton. The fire spread fast and because it was in a rural area with no fire hydrants, water had to be ferried in by tanker truck.
Fighting this rural area residential fire was a team effort headed up by the Fire Marshal’s Office the Needville Volunteer Fire Department, and the Richmond Fire Department, as well as, Fort Bend County Road & Bridge providing pumps and lighting at the scene.
Fort Bend County Fire Marshal Mark Flathouse said the cause of the fire appears to be electrical. However, the incident remains under investigation and the case is active. Flathouse said the preliminary findings were based on conclusions developed from the evidence collected at the time of the fire.