ELMO, Texas — Hazel Mosley, at 67, is rummaging through what is left of her burned-out home of 42 years in Elmo in Kaufman County.
Her misery was compounded by the question: if not for a parked train delaying the arrival of firefighters, how much of the home might have been saved?
"As you can tell, nothing made it," she told us while standing outside the fire-gutted home on County Road 352 in Kaufman County Wednesday.
The Tuesday morning fire appeared to have started in her bedroom while she was away. It raced through the entire home, destroying the contents of the living room, kitchen, and every bedroom. She says only her brother was home at the time and was able to call for help.
But the home, in a neighborhood on the north side of Elmo, sits next to busy Union Pacific train tracks running east and west through the county.
"I believe that if the train had not stopped or at least one crossing was open, I think the house would have been saved," Mosely said.
In Elmo, the train tracks parallel Highway 80. Hazel's home is on the north side of the tracks. The Elmo Volunteer Fire Department is on the south side of the tracks less than a quarter mile away and visible from Hazel's front porch. Firefighters who tried to reach the home on Tuesday morning said a train was stopped on the tracks blocking both entrances into the neighborhood.
"Whether it's once or twice a year or every week it's still a problem," said Elmo Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Greg Rushing.
He said up to a dozen trains, freight and Amtrak, pass through the town every day. But Tuesday morning he said a long freight train was parked on one of the double parallel tracks blocking both County Road 352 and FM 2728. He said the only alternate route to the home, within the site of the fire station, would have been a 20-minute detour.
"Got en route in three minutes," Rushing said. "And we were delayed by the train for 13 minutes because they were blocking the tracks."
He said they called Kaufman County Dispatch which contacted Union Pacific to alert the engineer to move the train.
"It engulfed three-quarters of the house," he said of the fire scene by the time they were able to arrive. "Where we could have probably contained it to one to two rooms," he said if they were able to arrive sooner.
Reached by WFAA for comment, a spokesperson for Union Pacific said:
"Union Pacific's goal is to keep trains moving safely and efficiently – a stopped train isn't good for our customers or communities. We do all we can to keep our trains moving, but there are challenges within our busy railroad corridors. Sometimes, trains have to pull over to allow other trains to pass, which is what occurred in Elmo, Texas, on Tuesday, when a Union Pacific pulled into a siding to allow several oncoming trains to pass, including a passenger train.
In our initial investigation into this incident, and after listening to taped conversations between the crew and our dispatchers, we have yet to uncover any indication that we were contacted by anyone to move the train to accommodate firefighters."
"It's devastating," said Hazel Mosley's son James Horsman who said he and neighbors have often complained about slow and seemingly "parked" trains blocking access to their home.
"They need to be mindful of... at least only block one exit," Horsman said.
On Wednesday, next to a bin of framed photos she was able to save, Hazel Mosley told us she does not have insurance. Her husband passed away earlier this year. One dog survived the fire, another one did not. And her family has started a GoFundMe page to help with their immediate needs.
"We don't know. That's one thing," she said. "We don't know what we're gonna do."