Dog saved but fire consumes Mound House home

Brothel-owner neighbor offers couple use of his guest house

F.T. Norton/Nevada Appeal Firefighters work to contain a fire consuming the home of Harold and Gail Barkley on Sunday evening on Garnet Circle in Mound House. Not much could be salvaged from the fire, but Benji the dog, who was trapped inside, escaped unharmed. Browse and Buy Nevada Appeal Photos

by F.T. Norton
Appeal Staff Writer, [email protected]
September 25, 2006

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Benji the dog was saved, but not much else will likely be salvaged from a Sunday fire in Mound House that left a couple without a home.

"The whole damn thing could burn as long as they got my dog out," said owner Harold Barkley, who along with his wife, Gail, lived in the 1998 modular home on two and a half acres on Garnet Circle that butts up against the Moonlite BunnyRanch property.

Neighbors spotted heavy smoke at about 5:40 p.m., and firefighters from Central Lyon County Fire Protection District, Storey County Fire Department and the Carson City Fire Department converged on the quiet neighborhood in northwest Mound House.

By the time crews arrived, flames were showing from the roof above the master bedroom and the rear of the home. When they kicked in the front door, Benji, a German shepherd, ran out unharmed.

The Barkleys weren't home at the time, and discovered their loss as they returned from dinner at the Nugget.

Gail Barkley said they just had construction on an enclosed porch completed. Harold Barkley said he'd just gone shopping at Costco on Saturday and filled the kitchen with $800 worth of food.

At least three neighbors offered the couple a place to stay, including BunnyRanch owner Dennis Hof, who said he will put the couple in his guest house.

"I own the home right next to theirs, and I told them to come over. They can eat at the ranch and whatever else they need they're going to get," Hof said by phone from Sacramento. "Whatever I've got to do to help these people, I'll do. They are not going to need for anything. They're good people, and it's not hard to be good to good people."

Harold was glad for the offer.

"He's been real good to us," he said.

Lyon County Battalion Chief Bob Kielty said the cause of the fire is under investigation, but appears to have started in or near the master bedroom.

Gail Barkley wondered aloud if the furnace could have been the culprit. She said her husband had just changed the filters in it, and the cool fall nights had caused them to switch it on.

"God, I can't believe it," she said, burying her face in her husband's shoulder. "This just hasn't been our year."

"That can burn," he told her, patting her back and gently turning her to look at their destroyed home. "We still have our life and our dog."



• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at [email protected] or 881-1213.