Jennifer Lee Clem, 24, passed
away
She was born
Survivours include her husband, Glenn TenBardg;
children, Gavin & Ambreah TenBarge;
mother, Shannon Devillez, father, Tracy Fithian; sister, Brea Clem; brother, Ryan Bennett;
grandparents, Elsie Clem, Bill & Shirley Fithian;
great-grandparent, Frances Sullivan.
Memorial services will be
held at
Visitation
will be from
A woman died in a
The fire gutted a home in the
800 block of
Melton said he came out on
his porch for a cigarette about
“I don’t think I even lit it,
and I looked and I saw smoke coming out of the side of the house. I ran over
there and saw the window was on fire — smoke and flames were shooting out of
the window — so I ran inside the house and tried to wake everyone up,” he said.
“I was screaming, yelling, knocking on the walls.”
The two people who Melton
knew lived in the home got out safely with his help, but then one of them told
him the woman was still inside. Responding fire units engaged in a search and
rescue operation, but did not find the victim alive.
“A couple of times, we tried
to run in there and get her out, but we couldn’t,” Melton said, his voice
tailing off. “I just met her a couple days ago, a sweetheart — a polite, good
girl.”
He said the intense fire and
smoke made it impossible for the three men to get to the woman, whose body was
discovered after firefighters extinguished the blaze.
“That fire grew so fast that
within probably 90 seconds it engulfed the whole house,” Melton said.
Pflug said it took firefighters about an hour to get the
fire under control.
He said investigators believe
the fire was caused by multiple extension cords running from the destroyed
residence to Melton’s home for electricity. The power was scheduled to be
restored to the home where the fire broke out Tuesday morning. In fact, Pflug said a Duke Energy crew showed up
as fire officials were leaving the scene.
Investigators ruled the fire
an accident and concluded that it started in a bedroom due to a faulty fan unit
or cord, according to a news release issued later Tuesday afternoon by the fire
department.
Though there were signs of a
child’s presence at the home — a red wagon and other toys were still in the
side yard later Tuesday morning — there were no children inside the home when
it caught fire.
Though Melton said he was
thankful that two of his “best friends” were able to escape harm, his mind kept
focusing on the one he just met who didn’t make it.
“I sat down when I got back
home awhile ago (Tuesday morning).” Melton said. “It hit me that we just lost
somebody.”
© 2012
Evansville Courier & Press.
All rights reserved.
Gibson County Coroner Barrett
Doyle confirms that 24 year old Jennifer Clem, of