Crappy New Year
Update: Body identified in three-alarm blaze that destroyed $2 million HeightsDoll House
A scene from the Heights fire.
What the Doll House home looked like before being destroyed.
More than 100 firefighters were on the scene.
UPDATE: The body found in the rubble that remained after a massive three-alarm fire destroyed one of the Heights' most impressive homes Monday morning has been identified. Patty Worthington, the home's owner, was killed in the blaze along with her caretaker, whose name has not yet been released. Worthington was physically handicapped.
Also destroyed in the fire, which leveled the Queen Anne-style historic replica, was Worthington's famed collection of dolls ranging from 15th century pieces to contemporary dolls. Worthington was warmly regarded among her tight-knit Heights community, and had opened her home more than once for fundraising efforts like the Heights Holiday Home Tour.
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UPDATE: The Houston Fire Department has issued a statement saying that one body has been found and another is believed to be missing from the three-alarm fire that broke out on Heights Boulevard early Monday morning. The remains have yet to be identified, but reports say that a physically handicapped woman and her caretaker may have been in the home and have not been found. One man on the property was able to escape unharmed and dial 911.
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The Heights' largest home burned early Monday morning in a three-alarm blaze. The 9,000-square-foot Queen Anne-style home, less than five years old, had been appraised at $2 million. Known as The Doll House, and reportedly owned by doll collector Patty Worthington, the home has been shown on the Houston Heights Association Holiday Home Tour.
The Houston Fire Department deployed more than 100 firefighters to contain the blaze, which they did successfully by steadily hosing down the surrounding houses. Although some houses suffered minor heat damage, none of the surrounding properties caught fire.
The homeowner remains unaccounted for and other media outlets are reporting that a physically handicapped woman who lived there has not yet been found. CultureMap did speak to a firefighter who was on the scene who said he was told when he arrived early this morning that the home was clear of any people. No official fire department spokesperson has confirmed this however.
A man who lived in a detached garage apartment on the property got out before the fire spread and called 911.
The cause of the blaze remains unclear. The Heights experienced a string of arsons last year with no convictions yet made, and arson investigators were on the scene of this latest blaze, as well.
Watch KRTK's Ch. 13 coverage below:
