Plainville Times – August 29, 2013
Submitted by Newz Group Clipping Service – September 10, 2013
A home occupied by Matt Hrabe, Shelly Wilkerson and Nick Wilkerson on the Saline River Road was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of August 26. Hrabe was seriously injured in his attempt to escape the burning home.
He was air lifted from Hays to Wichita where he had surgery on his leg where doctors placed a plate and pin. Surgery was performed Tuesday on the cracked vertebrae in his neck. He also suffers from broken ribs. Shelly injured her foot, and they all experienced smoke inhalation and eye irritation.
The family bulldog’s barking around 1:30 a.m., woke Nick, who is a junior at Plainville High School. Nick opened the door to his bedroom to find a smoke filled room, according to a family member. He woke Matt and Shelly and they evacuated through windows.
Matt had to remove an air conditioner from a window to escape over a partial wrap-around porch. Family members believe he may have hit landscaping timbers in his leap to safety.
Ellis County fire units 2, 3, and 5 responded to the fire, but the two-story house was fully engulfed.
Family reports everything was destroyed in the fire, leaving the family with nothing. The dog, Rudy, who saved his family, died in the fire.
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