TRAVIS COUNTY -- Pflugerville fire investigators are trying to determine what caused a fire Monday afternoon that destroyed one Wells Branch home and caused significant damage to a neighboring home.
It happened around 3 p.m. at 2011 Surrender Avenue, just north of Wells Branch Parkway between I-35 and MoPac.
A neighbor was in his yard when he noticed the fence on fire in the backyard of that home and went to knock on the front door. A father was inside the home with his four children, including a newborn. When he didn't find anyone at the front door, he went to the back door and noticed his backyard on fire.
“Looked over and just saw their fence completely engulfed in flames, the fire inching over to our property line," said Max Peterson, an Eagle Scout who saw the fire and called 911.
Peterson described hearing what sounded like a bomb going off in his neighbor’s backyard before he saw flames.
Later Monday evening, Boy Scout Troop 1409 was at the Wells Branch Community Center collecting items for the burned out victims.
“I want to get blankets, diapers, formula, some bottles, maybe some toys for the older kids. I know there's another family involved, but I don't know much about them yet,” said Roger Gray, Scout Leader of Troop 1409.
According to a Pflugerville Fire Department spokesperson, the family with the four children in the one-story house with the most damage does have home owner’s insurance. However, the Boy Scouts are still collecting items all day Tuesday at the Wells Branch Recreational Center at 3000 Shoreline Drive.
