The Brief
- Penny Phillips, a longtime fire inspector with the Farmersville Fire Department, lost her home and three pets in a fire on Monday.
- The cause of the devastating blaze remains under investigation, but Phillips believes a wiring issue may be to blame.
- The community has rallied to support Phillips, raising over $21,000 through a GoFundMe page to help her rebuild.
FARMERSVILLE, Texas – Penny Phillips has spent years helping residents of this North Texas town through some of their worst moments. Last week, she found herself living in one of her own.
What we know:
Phillips is a longtime fire inspector with the Farmersville Fire Department, lost her home and three pets in a house fire on Monday. She returned to work the next morning, saying the full weight of the loss still hasn’t set in but that support from the community has kept her moving forward.
Fire inspector loses home
Phillips said she was at work when Farmersville Fire Chief Mark Harrison called to tell her the blaze was at her own house. When she arrived, the home her father built three decades ago had been destroyed. Her cat, Hal, and her two dogs, Barney and Chewy, did not survive.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though Phillips said she believes a wiring issue may be to blame. She said investigators have a good idea of where the fire started, adding that if she had been home at the time, she may have struggled to escape.
What they’re saying:…