One Sachse family discovered just how important emergency preparedness can be after their family’s longtime vacation trailer caught on fire.

The trailer, parked near Lake Fork Reservoir in Yantis, provided a great getaway option for years for Cynthia Wetherington, her husband Paul and their two children Julian, 7, and Grace, 2, until it burned Saturday, July 23.

Cynthia said the trailer was in a park where she goes camping, fishing and kayaking with members of an all-women’s camping group, Sisters on the Fly. She had leased the trailer for several years and said she spent some time working remotely from it on Fridays each week.

“It was a happy place to go and de-stress and unwind,” Cynthia said. 

What started out as a normal Saturday night dinner soon became a family emergency after Paul lit the grill. Cynthia said Paul went to grab hamburgers from the refrigerator before he noticed a fire had started on the deck of their trailer.

Her husband called to her to get a hose and she said she quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher and leapt into action to put out the flames. However, Cynthia thinks there was dead vegetation or brush ablaze because her efforts did little to stop the fire from growing.

“We ran to the back of the deck and the fire was heating up quick,” Cynthia said. “Next to where the small camping grill was, there was a regular-sized propane tank that I heard whistling.”

Cynthia, also a foster parent, said she is required to conduct routine emergency drills with her children who are adopted. She credits that preparedness for helping everyone in her family safely escape the fire along with God for watching over her and her family while the tragedy unfolded.

For the full story, see the Aug. 4 issue of The Princeton Herald.