Fire leaves Willard family without home

WILLARD, Mo. – Community members in Willard are coming together to support a neighbor in need after she and her family lost their home in a fire.

On Thursday, Diedre Mayden got one of the worst phone calls she has ever received — her children letting her know their home was on fire.

Diedre Mayden is a nurse at Mercy Hospital. She says she is used to being the fixer to problems, not the one who needs help.

“Now this is what’s left of everything we have,” Mayden said.

Multiple local crews such as Ash Grove and Ebenezer joined the Willard Fire Department Thursday morning to battle the flames at the home on Pine Street.

“There were four different cities of firefighters here, and I kind of just lost it. I couldn’t breathe,” Mayden said. “They had to come and put oxygen on me because that moment, I just saw my world behind me kind of just going up in flames.”

By the time crews arrived, the home and both cars had been engulfed in flames. Mayden’s husband, Chance, their three children and all of their pets were home when the fire broke out.

“Then I saw smoke coming from the vents. I checked the garage, and it was already on fire,” Chance said. “So, I ran back inside and woke everyone up, got everybody outside, had them go to the backyard as far away as possible, called 911 called my wife and couldn’t get a hold of her. So, I took a picture and sent it to her just to make sure she knew everyone was okay.”

The Mayden family has lived in Willard for 14 years and community members were ready to support the family with clothes, supplies and even helping the family get a temporary place to call home.

“They put me in my entire family up in an Airbnb for two weeks, just so we didn’t have to worry about where we were going to be and how we were going to survive,” Mayden said.

Chance and Diedre say without the help of the community, they would still be feeling lost.

“Other places have offered us food and so many people have been donating to the GoFundMe my coworkers have started for us. My mercy family has been amazing,” Mayden said. “They are going above and beyond to try to help take care of us. So, everybody in Willard I like, I can’t even express the gratitude of the people here that have come out.”

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