FATAL FIRE: MANY WANT TO HELP MINER-AREA COUPLE

MINER -- Shortly after they heard the news, people from Sikeston, Miner, Charleston and Cape Girardeau began searching for ways to help Bill and Rebecca Beck recover from their tragedy.

All three of their children -- Bryan Hatfill, 15, Kimberly, 12, and Donald Beck, 9, -- were killed in a mobile home fire Wednesday morning south of Miner. The children were sleeping when the fire broke out. Both parents already had left for work.

"Whenever you have a tragedy happen, it pulls people closer," said Ron Steinmetz, executive director of Bootheel Counseling Services in Sikeston. "But when it involves children it adds to that sense of it's not real."

There was no smoke alarm in the mobile home and the only possible escape -- a door at the front of the home-- was engulfed in flames. The younger children called their mother at work for help. They couldn't escape. Rebecca Beck didn't speak to her children before they died.

Visitation for the children will be at Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston from 5-8 p.m. today. Funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral chapel, with burial in Silent Hill Cemetery in Grant City.

Rebecca and Bill Beck tried to save their children once they arrived at the burning mobile home. A rear door to the home was nailed shut from the outside and furniture blocked it inside the house, making their attempts futile.

When the Becks bought the mobile home, the back door already had been sealed closed, said New Madrid County Coroner Tim Clayton.

Rebecca Beck was burned on her hands, arms and face when she tried to enter the home from the front door. She is still being treated at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Her husband was not seriously injured.

As coroner, Clayton investigated the deaths since children were involved. "We always investigate," he said. "But when children are involved we go another step."

Faulty kitchen wiring caused the blaze, fire investigators said. The fire destroyed everything the Beck's owned; they had no life or homeowners insurance.

When word about the tragedy reached the small community that straddles the Scott and New Madrid counties line, friends and co-workers began looking for ways to help the Becks. Some people offered money, others clothes and furniture.

"A lot of churches in the area are offering prayers," said Martha Adams, whose husband works with Bill Beck at Redneck Trailer Supplies. "We had several people call from Sikeston who offered furniture, and we had two calls from Cape Girardeau and some donations from them."

Adams and her husband, Steve, are collecting and storing the donations for the Becks until they are ready to use them. Rebecca's co-workers from the Miner Nursing Home started a trust fund for the family at First Financial Bank of Southeast Missouri in Sikeston. Donations to either fund will be transferred to the Beck family.

"We are keeping all the names so that we can send thank-you notes for the donations," Adams said, explaining that collection cans would also be placed in area businesses.

To make donations to the Becks in care of Steve and Martha Adams, call (573) 683-2630 or write them at Route 1, Box 965, Bertrand, Mo. 63823.

Monetary donations can be sent to the Beck Family Trust Account at the First Financial Bank, 1205 S. Main, Sikeston, Mo. 63801, or you can call the bank at 471-8880.