CRIME

Late morning fire destroys RV

Cathy Decker/Staff reporter

After about an hour and a half of spraying the inside of this storage building, TJ & Sons finally used a winch to pull the source of the fire out -- an RV owned by Tom and Kathy Wheatley.

A crew taking an early lunch at FDS Welding and Fabrication smelled something burning and noticed smoke coming out of a garage next to their building. Boyd Stropes called 911 at 11:41 a.m. Thursday morning, calling in the Aledo Volunteer Fire department.

A retirement dream of Kathy and Tom Wheatley, owners of TJ & Sons, was going up in smoke.

Also responding to the fire were the Aledo Police Department, AMT Ambulance service and the Greene Township Volunteer fire department.

Several holes were chopped into the building to alleviate some of the smoke. In the end, TJ & Sons used a winch to drag out a blackened Recreational vehicle. "It was our retirement dream," said Kathy. "We were planning a trip to Colorado over Labor Day."