Fire guts Wharton woman's home
By BARRY HALVORSON news@leader-news.com

A Wharton woman and her son lost everything when the manufactured home they were living in was gutted by fire late Wednesday morning.

Noria Mitchell said she was using her oven to help warm up the residence at 403 A S. Caney Dr. when the blaze happened.

Wharton Assistant Fire Chief Scott Stewart was one of the first responders on the scene. He said records showed the department received the call at 11:02 a.m., arrived at 11:08 a.m. and firefighters had it out by 11:27 a.m.

A total of nine firefighters responded to the scene with one pumper and one utility truck.

Both Mitchell and her son, James Mosby Jr., were out of the house when the fire started, but her two pet dogs were still inside.

"I broke out a window and got both the dogs out before the fire department got here," she said. "It is hard enough to lose everything you own, but it would have been really devastating to have lost the dogs because they are such a part of the family."

By Wednesday, Mitchell had lined up housing, saying her landlord had found another trailer and she had received the donation of a kitchen table and a bed for her son. She said the Red Cross had also provided a cash card to purchase food and clothes.

People helping the Red Cross can call 832-277-4391.