FIRE DESTROYS HOUSE; FAMILY LOSES BELONGINGS

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- A Scott City family tries to recover from a Saturday fire at their house that left them with little but the clothes they were wearing.

Friends and relatives have started a collection for Harold Clay and Ashley Usrey, the couple whose home on Mary Street was destroyed. An account has been set up at Firststar Bank in Cape Girardeau for donations.

"They lost about 85 percent of everything they owned," said John Crail, Usrey's brother-in-law.

The couple had only been renting the mobile home for about two weeks and didn't have insurance. All of their furniture, dishes and household items burned, as did their clothing.

Clay wears size 30/30 jeans and medium shirts and size 10 shoes. Ashley Usrey wears women's size 10-12 clothes and size 7 1/2 shoes. A niece had been staying with the couple for the summer. She wears size 5 clothes and size 7 shoes.

The couple work at Thorngate and had planned to be on vacation this week while the plant was closed. Now they are staying with relatives in Scott City.

City fire crews had to call in neighboring departments for reinforcements but their water tanks were not needed, just the personnel, said Jay Cassout, fire chief.

With the high temperatures, firefighters often get overheated and more personnel are needed to extinguish a fire. The departments were on scene for about three hours before the blaze was extinguished, he said.

The fire began beneath the mobile home. Someone working to remove the tongue on the mobile home used a cutting torch and the underpinning caught fire, Cassout said.

To help the family or provide donations, call Crail at 264-2165.