Couple dies in mobile home explosion in Houston County

STEWART, Tenn. — Tamara Stephenson’s voice cracked with emotion as she described the scene at her parent’s home just minutes after a massive explosion last Monday night.

“My momma was bedridden …, and my daddy was trying to carry her out. And he didn’t make it. The ceiling fell in,” she said, unable to continue.

Doris Stephenson and his 78-year-old wife Dorothy died in the fire, which remains under investigation by fire officials.

Tamara Stephenson, who lives a short distance away from her parents' mobile home, said she took their supper around 10:30 p.m. and a couple minutes after returning home, she heard an explosion.

“We ran out the door and looked out and the walls were already off. It was gone. The trailer, it was gone,” she said.  “I could hear my momma. I could hear her trying to call for help. She kept saying help me, but I never did hear my daddy.”

Firefighters later found their bodies between the bedroom and the kitchen, where 73-year-old Doris Stephenson was trying to rescue his wife.

Houston County Fire Chief David Hardin said Doris Stephenson was in a nearby shop when the explosion happened, and he ran inside the burning mobile home to rescue his wife.

Dorothy Stephenson used oxygen, but it was unclear if it might have been the cause of the fire and explosion.

"There were about 10 oxygen bottles in the house that had just been delivered earlier that day," he said.

Crews had the fire under control about 1:30 a.m., Hardin said.

The state Fire Marshal’s Office and the Houston County Sheriff's Office are investigating the fatal fire.

Hardin said there was no evidence to indicate that it was anything other than an accidental fire.

“It’s likely we will never really know the cause because there were a number of variables,” he said. “The oxygen concentration in the trailer was a little above what you would normally have. That was certainly a contributing factor.”

In addition to firefighters from the Houston County Fire Department, crews from the City of Tennessee Ridge Fire Department and Erin Fire Department also responded at 10:44 p.m. to 150 Stephenson Lane.

Kenny Barnes, who described himself as best friends with Doris Stephenson, held a small cast iron ashtray shaped like a skillet.

“I got this from his truck,” he said. “It’s something I can keep of them.”

Doris Stephenson had retired from a construction and trucking business in Nashville, and moved to Houston County about 20 years ago.

His daughter said their families had lived in the tight-knit community filled with seasonal homes, permanent campers and mobile homes for about 35 years. Her father first established a hunting and fishing camp in the Hurricane Creek area and bought several acres of land around it.

Tamara Stephenson said she and her brother moved to her father’s property a couple years after her parents.

“There ain’t no moving back to Nashville after you’ve been here,” she said.

The Stephenson family was well-known in the community.

“My daddy was the greatest man in the world and my momma was bedridden,” Tamara Stephenson said. “… My daddy was thought very highly of. Not just because he was my daddy, but by others.”

Mark Hicks can be reached at 931-212-7626 or on Twitter: @markhicksleaf.