Couple thankful for community support after fire guts historic home

Brenda Davis and Brad Franks were asleep in their home when they were awakened by the barking of Eleven, their cherished German shepherd.

The couple’s house was on fire and they scrambled from their second-story bedroom — Franks shinnying down a column and Davis using a ladder he put up for her.

Standing outside, they could only watch as their home was engulfed — and destroyed — by flames the morning of Jan. 11. The house was not insured, and Eleven died in the fire. Davis also lost an artificial eye during her frantic escape.

Now, nearly 11 months later, they continue to “completely start over again,” Franks said.

They are employed and saving for a car, and they live in a mobile-home park with a great landlord. They plan a quiet Thanksgiving dinner in their small home.

And on this day reserved for giving thanks, they would like to offer a special thanks to a stranger who provided help without any thought of repayment.

Wayne Yarbrough, a Flower Mound resident who knows Davis only through her job as a waitress at the Waffle Way restaurant in Grapevine, helped her replace the artificial eye.

“I was so proud to help her,” Yarbrough said. “She is a beautiful, sweet lady. She touched my heart.”

Davis said: “Wayne made me feel pretty and put a smile on my face. I love him and his wife. I’ll owe him for the rest of my life.”

‘Almost brought me to tears’

After the fire, strangers also helped the couple find refuge at a motel. Some expenses were offset by St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Grapevine, whose members bought Franks a bicycle.

“We have our health and … a lot of good friends after the fire that I didn’t know we had,” Franks said.

But Davis said the biggest issue was replacing the lost eye. Years ago, she said, a former boyfriend injured her face in an assault, and her right eye had to be removed.

After losing the artificial eye in the fire, Davis wore an eye patch to work as she struggled “to come back to normal.”

By chance, Yarbrough and his wife of four years, Mary, came to the restaurant after he had been to the eye doctor and received unsettling news. He asked Davis where he could buy an eye patch.

He said she relayed her plight, adding, “It almost brought tears to my eyes.”

“She told me she would never be able to get $2,000 for another glass eye. She started crying,” Yarbrough said. “I told her, ‘Yes, you will. You don’t have to worry. I’m going to help you get your eye.’”

Mary Yarbrough said she wasn’t the least bit surprised by her husband’s generosity.

“He’s always helping people in need,” she said.

‘She’s a positive person’

Yarbrough’s generosity goes way beyond his connection to Davis. He spends a lot of time with his charity, Flower Mound Furry Friends Animal Rescue. His menagerie includes goats, geese, horses, pigs, donkeys, mules, dogs, cats and any other critter that finds its way there. A favorite is a rescue emu named Cooper.

“Once they land here, they feel like they’re in heaven,” Yarbrough said of the place his wife calls “Wayne’s World.”

Yarbrough, who is retired from the auto salvage business and owns Atomic Truck Parking in Dallas, said that although he is “not a rich man,” he is fortunate enough to have the means to help.

“I’m in good shape,” he said simply.

Mary Yarbrough said her husband was quick to help Davis, adding: “She was so broken and hurt. He wanted her to feel good about herself.”

Davis received her eye from Dallas Eye Prosthetics, and Yarbrough covered the entire cost.

Mary Yarbrough said they received a gift from Davis as well — her gratitude.

“She could have let what’s happened get her down, but she doesn’t,” Mary Yarbrough said. “She’s a positive person.”

Dog saved their lives

While Davis and Franks are grateful for Yarbrough’s gift, they never have a chance of reclaiming their gutted dream home, which was uninsured.

According to historians, the house in the 500 block of Wildwood Lane was once home to Zebulon Jenkins, a well-known merchant and pioneer.

Franks said his mother bought the house, which was in “horrible” shape, in 1982.

She died in 2009, and he moved into it in 2010 and put everything he had into restoring it.

The fire started about 4 a.m., according to reports. The couple said their dog, Eleven, barked to warn them. They awoke to flames and a popping sound, like a gun discharging.

After the ordeal was over, the homeowners discovered that Eleven, named because they found her on New Year’s Day 2011, had died. What remained of the house has been leveled.

Grapevine Deputy Fire Chief Randie Frisinger, who is also the fire marshal, said the dog saved the couple’s lives.

“They might not be here if not for that dog,” Frisinger said.

He said the cause “appears to be accidental,” and he estimated damage at $500,000 to the building and $25,000 to its contents.

‘Treasure-trove’ of history

Pam Price of the Grapevine Historical Society said that Jenkins was one of the early settlers on the Grape Vine Prairie. With the fire at the home, “we have lost a treasure-trove of that history,” she said.

“Our history is built on knowledge of the people and their homes and businesses, and when we lost this historic home, it affected all of us in the knowledge that it cannot be replaced,” Price said.

“Photographs and stories aid in telling the stories of our city’s residents, and their homes help to preserve our rich heritage. But the buildings themselves are living examples of life here in early Grapevine.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2013 at 8:37 AM with the headline "Couple thankful for community support after fire guts historic home."