Neighbors, friends in shock after fatal Chaffee, Mo., fire

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Residents stood in shock Wednesday morning as they watched Chaffee firefighters comb through debris and seek out hot spots that might remain from a house fire at 121 Black Ave. that killed three people, two of them toddlers.

Next door, at 119 Black Ave., Jackie Meyers tried to keep her 4-year-old daughter from crossing caution tape that blocked off the blackened structure. Another neighbor, Angela Luttrell, stood in front of her house with her hand covering her mouth, realizing the loud noise she heard shortly before the sun came up was likely an explosion caused by the fire.

Andrew Biler, 21, and his nephews, Bryton, 2, and Jaden Nicholson, 3, died of smoke inhalation, Scott County Coroner Scott Amick said Wednesday afternoon. Biler's mother survived the blaze but suffered serious injuries and was transported to St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis.

Firefighters work the scene of a house fire at 121 Black Ave. in Chaffee, Mo., on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. Three were killed in the fire, including two children. (Kristin Eberts)

With children of their own, and one on the way for Luttrell, the two neighbors couldn't find many words Wednesday to describe the scene before them. Meyers said her daughter, Julie, played with the Nicholson boys often.

"It's devastating. ... I can't imagine losing your children," she said. Julie "even wanted to know how come we couldn't go in and save them."

Fire crews were unable to as well, arriving around 6 a.m. to find the house fully engulfed. A neighbor called 911 from a cellphone, according to Chaffee fire chief Sam Glency.

"You rarely show up on a scene and see one fully involved like this," Glency said. "It was a recovery situation from the start."

Mutual aid was called in from numerous Scott County departments, and a Missouri fire marshal was on scene investigating Wednesday.

Misty Johnson, 22, of Chaffee raced from her workplace early Wednesday to the scene, worried for her friend, Biler, who she had known since childhood. She sat on a porch across the street from the destroyed home, puzzled at why it had to happen.

"I just cut his hair for him yesterday," Johnson said. "I don't know what to even say."

More of Biler's friends joined Johnson at the scene, watching as investigators worked their way through the home. A cause of the fire has not been released, although Glency said he thinks the fire started in a bedroom in the back of the home.

Devin Crowden, 20, called Biler his best friend, someone who he hung out with regularly.

"He was a good guy. That's about all I can say right now," Crowden said.

"There's nothing to say," said Eric Simpson, another of Biler's friends. "We'll all miss him."

Wednesday's deadly fire was the second in Scott County this year. Donald Estes, 75, Cheryl Talley, 53, and Brittany Calhoun, 24, died Feb. 22 in a blaze that destroyed the residence at 401 Hopper St. in Scott City. A fourth family member, 77-year-old Norma Estes, survived but suffered serious burn injuries. A dog also died in that fire.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

121 Black Ave., Chaffee, MO