A family traveling south to start over lost nearly everything including their beloved pets Saturday when the RV they were towing caught fire on State Road 25 near Main Street. The fire shut down the roadway for several hours.
Carroll County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and Delphi Fire Department were dispatched to the scene at about 5:50 p.m. Saturday after a pull-behind camper ignited.
No serious injuries were reported, but the fire completely destroyed the RV and its contents. Cleanup took roughly four hours, with CCSO reporting the roadway reopened in just one lane at 8:26 p.m., then fully reopened at 10:15 p.m.
According to Stefani Schafer, who was traveling with her boyfriend, Don Gerald, and their children, the family was en route from Logansport to Oklahoma, where they planned to live in the RV near her oldest daughter.
“We didn’t even make it out of Delphi,” an audibly devastated Schafer said during a Monday phone interview. “That’s how far we got.”
Schafer said Gerald, who was driving, noticed gray smoke coming from the camper and immediately pulled over. Flames quickly spread from the rear passenger side of the RV.
“I ran back there and burned my hands trying to get the propane tanks out,” Schafer said. “The cats were behind the bed, and the fire was right there. I got one propane tank out, but the black smoke just took over.”
Gerald unhitched the camper and pulled forward moments before the fire fully engulfed it — a decision Schafer believes saved their lives.
“If it wasn’t for his quick thinking, we would have all been dead,” Schafer said.
The RV, a 2009 Fleetwood Wilderness camper, was recently purchased for $250 through an online marketplace and was not insured. Schafer said the family believed the fire was electrical in nature, possibly related to wiring for the lights.
Inside the RV was nearly everything the family owned.
“We packed everything we had,” Schafer said. “Baby pictures. Clothes. Important documents. My daughter had saved up $70 from babysitting and bought herself a guitar. All of it was back there.”
The family also lost five cats, including a mother cat and her kitten.
“That’s what hurts the most,” Schafer said. “They were our family.”
Schafer said the move to Oklahoma was prompted by housing instability after plumbing failures left their Cass County rental home without running water during freezing temperatures. When the landlord didn’t make repairs, Child Protective Services got involved. They advised her to find other housing — fast.
“They said I could leave now with my kids or leave later without them,” Schafer said.
After the fire, the family continued their journey in the truck and are staying temporarily with relatives in Seminole, Oklahoma. Schafer said she has three tents, and they may be forced to camp if other housing options don’t open up soon. Despite everything, Schafer said she is grateful her children are safe.
“Life shouldn’t be this hard,” Schafer said. “I just didn’t want my kids to be homeless.”
A GoFundMe has been created by Schafer’s daughter to help the family recover at:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/9eu9p8-help-my-family-recover-from-the-fire