Logan community aids family made homeless by fire

Others in the Logan area have joined the Logan Fire Department in collecting household items and cash for a Rosebud-area (Harding County) family of eight whose home was destroyed by fire on May 25.

The fire destroyed the home of Jason Gorham, his fiancee Trina Escalante, and their six children ages 2-7.

"I want to express my gatitude to the people of Logan," Gorham said on Thursday. "The Fire Department has been helpful. My kids' teachers...everybody in Logan. The way they all came together to help, it's amazing."

Since the fire, Gorham said, the family has been staying "back and forth with family members" in Logan while they look for a new home. Gorham is a truck driver and heavy equipment operator and Escalante, he said, has been a "stay-at-home mom" recently.

Logan Fire Chief Rex Stall said the department conducted a fill-the-boot drive on May 26 and is taking donated material to help the Gorham family at the Logan Fire Station, 108-B U.S.54 in Logan.

Additional donations are still needed, Stall said, and the amily is looking for a three-bedroom home to rent in the Logan area. He said potential donors may reach him by phone or text at (575) 403-9801.

"I would like to thank the community as well as our weekend visitors for their generosity, he said.

To respond to the fire on May 25, the Logan Fire Department sent three fire engines and an ambulance to assist the Rosebud Fire Department's one engine and an ambulance at the scene, Stall said.

"When we got there, the house was totally involved," he said, "so we just contained the fire."

Gorham and the rest of the household were attending a barbecue in Logan, hosted by one of Gorham's brothers, when the fire occurred, Gorham said.