BROOKINGS No injuries were reported in a late-night blaze Thursday that destroyed two homes and a garage on Medary Avenue South in Brookings.
An unattended heat lamp in the garage of the residence at 217 Medary Ave. S. was the source of the fire, according to information from the Brookings Police Department on Friday. The garage was fully engulfed and the blaze was spreading to the residence when the 911 call came in around 11 p.m. Shortly thereafter, it spread north to the residence at 215 Medary Ave. S.
Emergency responders were able to evacuate everyone from the houses and the fire department safely contained the fire, BPD Chief Michael Drake wrote.
All I could see was orange
The Brookings Register spoke with the residents of 215 Medary Ave. S. on Friday Kelley Wininger and her daughter Jaimye Wininger and the story they told was harrowing, even more so because Jaimye was sleeping in her bedroom at the time.
I thought I was getting shot at, she said. I walked down to my basement and all I could see was orange, and so I sprinted out the back door.
Jaimye made sure to grab her dog, Elliot, before escaping the blaze. Once safely outside, her mind literally blanked out.
I had no thoughts. I truly had no idea. I just, I was in hysterics I couldnt do anything, I was in shock, Jaimye said. Somebody grabbed me off the street because I had fallen, and somebody pulled me into their truck and gave me a drink and just let me use their phone because I left my phone in my room and then all of a sudden my friend was (outside) the window.
That friend was Kalea Miller, who lives near the Brookings City & County Government Center on Third Street. She said she heard the explosion and then watched as fire trucks and ambulances thundered by on Third Street.
I looked on Facebook and I saw where it was, and I immediately called Jaimye and there was no answer, so I got in my car and drove here, Miller recalled. The firefighters and police told me where she was at, and so I went there because she had no phone to contact anybody.
It was a welcome reunion because Jaimyes mother, who teaches grades 9-12 at Crow Creek Tribal School in Stephan a couple of hours from Brookings, was asleep in her teachers residence there when the fire broke out.
She woke up to about 40 messages on her phone, finding out about the fire around 6 a.m. Friday. Needless to say, Kelley made a beeline for Brookings
I rushed, I called my superintendent and I called my principal and said, I need to go home, my house caught on fire last night, I need to go home, she said. Its a total loss. I talked to some contractors and theres just no way they have to rebuild. This is (an) 1880s structure, and theres no way to fix the, this is all original wood. Theres no way they can fix some of the damage, so theyre just going to have to redo it.
Kelley said her home is fully insured. Thank the Lord on that one!
Amid the destruction of blackened house frames, melted siding and the squish of water from firefighting efforts, theres another silver lining as well: Her daughters new car didnt sustain any damage.
Shes got an awesome job, and the first thing she did was want to buy a car for herself, Kelley said. She was so proud of that.
That was the one thing I was worried about, actually, Jaimye interjected. I was panicking about my car.
Jaimye, who is a graduate student at South Dakota State University, works as a substance abuse counselor, a job she started about two months ago, at Brookings Behavioral Health & Wellness.
You know, 2025 has been one for the books. Im ready for it to be over, Jaimye said.
Its certainly been rough going, even before the Thursday nights fire. The second owner of Nicks Hamburger Shop in downtown Brookings was Jaimyes grandfather, Duane Larson, and he had a stroke right before New Years Day and is currently in a nursing home, Kelley told the Brookings Register. He sold Nicks to Dick Fergen in late summer 2004.
Were trying to deal with that, too, Kelley said. Its been a traumatic year not starting out very well.
Kelley said the Red Cross has been aiding the family, and Jaimye said she plans to stay with her friend Kalea, who also invited Kelley to stay as well. On top of that, the family has a hotel voucher available to them, along with some money to replace items lost in the fire.
I think most of her clothes are gone, most of my clothes, most everything, Kelley said. I dont know whether to laugh or cry.
I cant cry anymore, I just have to laugh, Jaimye added.
You just dont think about these things, Kelley continued. You hear about them, and you just dont think its going to happen. Were safe. We do everything we unplug everything, we, you know, but we dont think a neighbors garage is going to explode.
Fire response
Brookings Fire Department Chief Pete Bolzer said six fire trucks and 26 firefighters battled the blaze on Medary Avenue until 3:30 a.m. Friday.
Due to the size and complexity of the fire, additional personnel were requested from the Volga Volunteer Fire Department, he said, adding that, Because of the current dry weather and the wind at the time of the fire, this was a very fast spreading fire.
Bolzer noted that the fire also set off a power outage in the area after it caused an electrical transformer to short out.
The other agencies that responded to the fire were Brookings Ambulance, Brookings Municipal Utilities and Northwestern Energy.
Lasting memories
When a person has lived somewhere long enough, it becomes a big part of their memories, of their lived experience. That especially holds true for the Winingers, for their house at 215 Medary Ave S. wasnt just merely a house: It was a home, one where life was lived to its fullest for nearly 20 years.
And so, with that in mind, its easy to see why the littlest of things can matter a great deal such as saving Jaimyes Miss South Dakota USA dress from the 2022 competition, along with her glow-in-the-dark fish in its aquarium. On a slightly bigger scale, the familys garage and shed were spared as well.
Kelley wandered about her yard and talked about those memories, including the familys small garden, the spot where Jaimye kept rabbits for 4-H, a hot tub the family got during the COVID-19 pandemic because they couldnt do anything else during that time and, most of all, the haunted house parties theyd hold every year.
All through Jaimyes growing up, we always had everybody come over for haunted house, Kelley said. Wed take all of the furniture out (and) make it into a huge haunted house.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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