GARFIELD -- A column of thick, black smoke rising into the evening sky could be seen from miles away Saturday just before sunset.
Firefighters from four agencies -- Northeast Benton County (NEBCO), Pea Ridge, Avoca and Little Flock -- rushed to the scene of the devastating blaze that destroyed the Markey Lane home of Carlton Mitchel Johnson and his family about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15.
A woman, sobbing and held back from entering the home, sat outside the perimeter cordoned off by firefighters. Family members were nearby, watching the brilliant orange and red flames and hearing the cracking and popping as the flames engulfed their six-bedroom home.
Inside were family pets, three dogs and a guinea pig. One of those dogs was a beloved emotional support dog, Tippy, a white Pekingese, who Blanca (Mitchel's wife) had for seven years, Ronda Bailey, Mitchel's mother, said.
Firetrucks with red lights blinking blocked the narrow rural dirt lane. Firefighters set up a portable water tank and trucks delivered water from the nearest hydrant to fill the tank providing water for the hoses.
Johnson, Blanca and their six children had just left to go to a party, Bailey said, when she heard loud "banging" and her electricity went off. She lives in a camper trailer nearby. She said she looked outside and saw flames coming from the window of the older trailer.
"I saw flames. I dialed 911 as I'm running down to Carlton's (Mitchel's father who also lives on the property)," Bailey said. "There was stuff popping in the fire. Nobody was home."
Saying she knew she needed to get the dogs out of the home, she said: "I busted out windows and started calling names." She said the elder Johnson kicked in the front door, but they were not able to get the dogs out.
Mitchel and his family arrived on the scene before the fire department as they were not far away when his brother called him to tell him about the fire.
"This is how quick it happened. He went to the gas station and then the dollar store and made it back before the fire department got here," Bailey said, adding that the fire department was on the scene very quickly. "It happened so fast. The back trailer was ... gone."
Bailey, who said she lives in a camper on the property, said the two trailer homes were from 1962 and 1995. She said she has a little more than two and a half acres on which the family live. She has been there since 2001 and her son and his family moved there about 10 years ago to help her after she was widowed. She no longer carried homeowner's insurance on the trailers because of the age of them, but said her son did have renter's insurance.
"I just want to say how great the community has been," Bailey said. "Our neighbors -- they keep bringing us water. And my work, PLP (Preformed Line Products) is helping."
Bailey said members of two basketball teams on which some of the children played as well as a soccer team on which they used to play were also providing assistance. She said the children, who range in age from 12 to 16, attend Lingle and Heritage schools in Rogers. Mitchel works in refrigeration at Tysons in Rogers, she said.
"People are being great," she said.
Bailey said Mitchel is her only child but has siblings from his father's side including Stormy Johnson, Moriah Anthony and Ethan Johnson.
Moriah Anthony organized a social media site to collect items to assist the family. A Facebook site House fire Emergency Fundraiser has been created by Anthony of Pea Ridge.
A benefit concert has been scheduled from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at 1902 South Eighth St., Suite 9, Rogers, according to a Facebook site, Johnson Family Fire Assistance. According to the post, people are invited to "help us rock the house in a concert benefiting the Johnson family who on 02/15/2020 lost everything. We as a community will help them recover some of the final expenses so the family can be whole again."
There is a $10 cover charge which will go directly to the family. Music is by Miss Misery, Endfall and others.
Needs for the family as well as sizes for shoes and clothes are listed on the Facebook site.
General News on 02/19/2020