By KENNETH DEAN, Staff Writer| Tyler Morning Telegraph

WHITEHOUSE - Dreams of a summer vacation went up in smoke Friday morning after a fire burned a retired couple's motor home and garage just minutes before they were to depart for Montana.

Tim Faulkner stood watching as Whitehouse volunteer firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze that claimed his garage, a 1993 Holiday Rambler motor home and lawn equipment on

Rhones Quarter Road just north of Farm-to-Market Road 346.

"We were supposed to be on our way to Montana by now," he said.

The Faulkners, both retired school teachers, said they go to Montana every year and spend several months away from home.

"This is devastating, just devastating," Jo Ann Faulkner said with tears streaming from her eyes.

Mrs. Faulkner said her husband had gone to get the couple some doughnuts for breakfast when their neighbor Hank Gilbert knocked on the couple's back door and said the motor home was on fire.

"I had put all of our clothes, food and everything in there already," she said. "Only thing I hadn't put in there was our money and travelers checks."

Mrs. Faulkner said she and her husband both lost their parents last summer and were looking forward to the trip.

"I guess we can replace all the stuff and maybe we can get this all taken care of so we can have our trip," she said.

Gilbert, a Democrat who is running against state Sen. Todd Staples of Palestine for the Texas Commissioner of Agriculture in November's elections, said the motor home was fully engulfed.

"I hope they don't have the problems I have had with the insurance company," he said.
Gilbert explained that his home burned more than two years ago and the insurance company did not want to pay based on Whitehouse not having a full-time fire department.

Gilbert said the situation he faced was a good reason for the counties of Texas to have established Emergency Service Districts to fund local volunteer fire departments.

Smith County volunteer fire departments are expected to take the required petitions full of signatures to commissioners Monday morning to get the ESD on the November ballot.

ESDs tax property owners a small annual amount and the funds go to the departments that are operating on budgets that leave firefighters paying for their own fuel for fire trucks.
Smith County Assistant Fire Marshal Marilyn Wilson said the fire began when vapors from the motor home's fuel tank ignited from a spark from electrical breakers tripping.

"He had an extension cord run to the motor home and it caused the breakers to trip, that created enough spark to ignite the vapors from the 80 gallon fuel tank," she said.

Ms. Wilson said people need to use caution when using electricity around fuel vapors and should only do so in open areas where fumes are not confined.