LAWRENCE CO.—A fire earlier this morning has claimed the life of a Sumner-area boy.
According to sources in Sumner, a fire broke out at about 4 a.m. at a location known as the “old Noble Webster place” approximately five miles south of Sumner and east off the Sumner-Lancaster blacktop about a mile. Residing there were Noble Webster’s son Matt and his family. The house has been described by all sources this morning as “not in very good shape” with old electrical wiring, and that it had experienced a fire before, so speculation has it that that was the likely start of the fire.
Apparently there was no telephone at the location, so when the family became aware of the fire, official sources tell us Matt Webster left to go to a neighbor’s to call it in. Our initial sources advised that he apparently believed his family was out of the house; conflicting reports have it that he did not leave to call from a neighbor’s (this according to bad-tempered family members, who remain evidently confused about what happened, as they have given conflicting reports to us by phone). As it turned out, his wife Shelly was already at work so she wasn’t in the house; their 14-year-old daughter was already out. Their 11-year-old son Parker, however, had not escaped, and family says Webster tried to get Parker out but to no avail. It’s been reported to us that a fireman attempted to enter the house as well, but the flames were too intense; the house was a total loss, and Parker perished in the fire.
Donations for the family are being accepted at the Free Methodist Church in Sumner at 602 Dubois (corner of West Cherry and Dubois). We have a few sizes needed: for the daughter and mother, size 6 pants, size 9 1/2 shoes, and L-XL shirts; for the father, 34 X 30 pants, size large shirts, size 10 shoes, and of course household items. It’s unclear where the Websters are being housed currently.
Sadly, our sources are telling us that there’s a long-distance relationship between the Websters and the family who experienced a tragic fire four years ago, the Fletchers up in Chauncey. Matt Webster’s brother Mark, we’re told, was married to a sister of Rhonda Littlejohn Fletcher at one point, Mary Littlejohn. Regular readers will recall that the Fletcher fire killed Rhonda and three of her children, including an infant son, in early 2009, so sadly, now cousins have perished in a similar manner.
The Illinois State Fire Marshal has been called to investigate the Webster fire as a matter of course; when we learn more, we’ll pass it along.