Community mourns death of two in early morning house fire

As news broke on Nov. 20 of a house fire that claimed the lives of two adults, a child is being hailed a hero for her quick thinking that likely saved her life, and that of her sister.

At approximately 1:40 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, the Hughes Springs Fire Department received a call to the 600 block of Tower Street for a structure fire. As crews arrived, firefighters say the home was well involved. “The fire was fully involved in the back bedroom. While en route I was advised that people may be trapped,“ said Hughes Springs fire chief Jay Cates.

The house had been occupied by 41-year old Al Rushing, his wife, 29- year old Shanice, and two of their children, both girls, ages ten and six. The girls do have other siblings, but none were home at the time of the blaze. Thanks to the quick thinking of the ten-year old, both girls survived fighters their parents were still inside. “”They heard their mother crying. They heard her saying her eyes were burning,“ Cates said. After the fire was extinguished, firefighters attempted a search and rescue, but it was too late. “We found both occupants; mother and father, in the back bedroom on the floor where they perished,“ Cates said.

Chief Randy Kennedy hailed the young girl a hero for her quick thinking. “She woke up and heard her mother crying out that her eyes were burning. She opened the door, saw the smoke, and shut it again. It was then that she woke up her six year old sister, got her dressed, and they got out of the house,” said Kennedy. The girls broke the front bedroom window, escaped the house, and went to a next door neighbor’s house. “God’s grace was on those children,” said Chief Kennedy. “Her calm thinking was what saved both girls,” added Kennedy.

The State Fire Marshall was called in to assist the Hughes Springs Fire Department with investigating the fire, according to Kennedy. No foul play is suspected, and the fire is being ruled as accidental at the time of this article. Both bodies were sent to Dallas for autopsies.

The house was a total loss, and the girls truly lost everything, including their parents in the fire. However, thanks to the quick thinking of the older sister, the tragedy was not as bad as it could have been.