By Denise Blaz
The Abilene Reporter-News
TYE, Texas — The city of Tye is collecting donations for one of its own volunteer firefighters after his north Abilene home was heavily damaged by fire last weekend.
At about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, firefighters responded to a possible structure fire in the 1800 block of North Seventh Street, where the Jeremy Linn family resided. There, they found heavy smoke and residents of the home standing in the front yard. Damages totaled to $40,000, and family pets — a dog and two hamsters — were lost in the blaze.
Donations of clothing, furniture, money and appliances, as well as toys can be taken to Tye City Hall, located at 205 North St.
Jeremy Linn has been a volunteer firefighter in Tye for the past eight months, said the city’s Fire Chief Shawn Hicks. “He’s been one of our top hands,” Hicks said about Linn’s service to the volunteer department. Linn, he said, travels back and forth from Abilene to Tye on fire calls, especially wildfires.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. On Monday, Lt. Greg Goettsch of the Abilene Fire Department said investigators have been able to conclude only that the fire began on a living room sofa. AFD has not been able to determine the source of ignition, he said.
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