A family away on spring break lost their home to a fire. The house on Jones Road went up in flames just before 9 o'clock Thursday morning.
The intensity of the fire made it impossible to save the house. A neighbor heard an explosion then saw flames and called 911.
"We're probably 800 feet off the road back there to it. When you see it from the road burning there's nothing you can do it's already through the roof," says Greg Brewer with the West Pulaski Fire Department.
With the help of the Lake Maumelle Department they worked to put out the fire. The closest hydrant to the home is about three miles away.
"We're hauling water with tankers. We've hauled in about 25,000 gallons so far."
The house sits on a hill and the road leading to it is narrow, winding, and steep in a lot of places, so there's one truck up there pumping water through the hoses. Water from a swimming pool near the house helped out. But firefighters say they pretty much knew from the intensity of the fire that this would end badly.
"Pretty well totally burned down," says Brewer. "This is a loss for this family and the firefighters who so desperately wanted to save the home."
According to the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department, the home belongs to Aaron Gamewell. Investigators say Gamewell told them he had a small propane leak he'd had work done on but didn't believe it was enough to cause any problems. The damage is estimated to be about $400,000.
