By Karen Middleton
An exhausted Rick Mobley returned to what was left of his burned-out home on East Clearmont Drive Thursday, saying he will probably rebuild on the site because his family has loved living there the last 10 years.
Mobley, his wife Karen, and nine of their 11 children live on six acres at the end of a cul-de-sac in Clearmont Farms south of Elkmont.
Seven of the children, who are home-schooled, were home with their mother when the upstairs smoke alarm went off Wednesday shortly after 3 p.m., said Mobley.
“Our 4-year-old was asleep in the front bedroom when the alarm went off,” said Mobley. “We had just put a fresh battery in, thank goodness. My wife ran upstairs and saw smoke coming from under the door. Well, she knows you never open a door when you see smoke so she ran back downstairs and grabbed the baby and ran out.”
Firefighters said Wednesday night that when they arrived the roof of the Mobley home was fully involved in flames. Owens Volunteer Fire Department incident commander Jeff Sides said smoldering clothing in an attic ignited the roof.
Mobley said that, “about half our church congregation showed up last night.” The Mobleys attend New Life Baptist Church in Harvest.
“There’s nothing like a church family,” said Mobley. “We’ve had numerous offers of lodging and even houses where people are out of town for the winter.”
Mobley said the family, which stayed in a motel Wednesday night, would remain very close to home while the house is being rebuilt because they have a mini-farm with goats and chickens that have to be fed.
Mobley said a steady stream of friends and fellow church members came to the home Thursday morning with sacks of clothing for the children and dishes of food.
“We’re just overwhelmed,” he said. “Our church members have been out, we’ve had clothing donated and we will go shopping tomorrow.”
He said the home into which his family moved on Dec. 1, 1999, when he was transferred from Georgia with Boeing, is insured. He said he had spoken with his insurance agent. He said they would decide in the next couple of days whether to demolish the house and start over or try to repair the existing structure.
“The back part is okay, but the front part is pretty much gone,” he said. “We’ve really enjoyed it here and pretty much feel we’ll build back.”
