Historic Helena home burns in early morning fire | News

HELENA, AL (WBRC)- A chimney and a few charred bricks are all that remains of a century-old home that burned to the ground in Helena early Tuesday.

The house on Ruffin Road was a formerly a stagecoach depot. The home's owner, Daniel Johns, has lived there for 36 years.

Johns said he, his daughter, son-in-law and two grandkids managed to escape without injuries after his son-in-law smelled smoke.

But Johns lost everything he owned in the house, which was not insured.

"It didn't really hit me until the house fell in. Standing out here barefoot in my long johns. Found these old shoes in my building out here and got my son-in-law's pants on. All my life I've worked to have something, it's gone," Johns said.

Helena firefighters said the fire began in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 5. They are still investigating the cause of the blaze.

Johns says the fire started near a space heater.

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