Fire Destroys Apartment House Near Downtown

(CAMERON)  Two families were displaced but no one was hurt in a fire today (Wednesday) that destroyed an apartment house at 213 West 2nd Street near downtown Cameron.  The Neeley family, William, Tera, and their two small children occupied one unit.  Ricky Gutierrez was a tenant in the apartment on the west side.  And Debbie Kahler had an apartment in the house, but was not living there.   The house is owned by Tommie Schoellhorn, who lives in League City.

The fire is believed to have started in the bedroom area of the Gutierrez apartment, however the cause remains unknown. 

3 Cameron Fire units and around 35 Firefighters responded to the scene around 3:25 p.m.  Heavy smoke and scorching temperatures took its toll on firemen who battled the blaze intensely for more than 2 hours.  Firemen remained at the scene around 6:30 p.m. and Fire Chief Thomas Harwell said Firefighters would be there for at least another two hours.

A neighboring house owned by Mary Lee Bass, sustained damage as the heat from the blaze melted vinyl siding on the Bass house.  A new pickup, owned by Gutierrez, was also destroyed in the blaze.  A bus located at the rear of the house, was spared as Firefighters created a water shield to contain the fire and heat.