The state fire marshal is currently investigating a fire that took place at about 10 a.m. on May 31 at the home of Jerry and Diane Rouner. The home, located about five miles east of Coffey on Highway B, was a complete loss.
That Sunday morning, Jerry and Diane went to Bethany to run a few errands before attending the Christian Church on Highway 13.
A neighbor, Alan McCrary, was also on his way to church, and noticed smoke coming from the Rouner house. He made an effort to put the fire out, but realized it had quickly spread beyond his control. He called 911 and also called Jerry.
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Several fire departments arrived, including Gallatin, Coffey, Bethany, Pattonsburg, Gilman City, and KAW. A paramedic was on hand.
At some point, Jerry asked who moved his truck. That’s when they realized the truck had been stolen and the fire was arson. The state fire marshal became involved.
Law enforcement is currently looking for the maroon 2008 Dodge 2500. It is a three-quarter-ton pickup with a chrome grill guard. There is a “Remember Chad Young” sticker in the back window. Chad was a Gallatin city employee and firefighter and a best friend of their son, Jerry Rouner. If you see the pickup, or have any information, please call the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department at 663-2031.
The theft of the truck is one thing, but the motive for the burning of the Rouner home is a mystery. The Rouners won’t comment on it. They’re leaving it to law enforcement to unravel. There was a gun in the stolen truck. That made it a federal case.
“The important thing is nobody was hurt,” Diane says.
They had two cats. One was an outdoor cat, and Sprinkles. Sprinkles escaped unharmed, but the 33 baby chicks in the basement weren’t that lucky.
Between 100-150 people came the night of the fire and the days after and were in and out. They brought food, clothes, and offered places for the Rouners to stay. They cried and hugged. Nobody wore a mask; no one remembered that there was a virus going around or seemed to care. Some brought chairs. A lot of them sat with the Rouners.
“We watched it burn,” Jerry says.
He laughs that it takes a fire to see his kids. With the COVID scare, the kids were making themselves scarce. Now they’ve been seeing them every day.
“We have good neighbors and good friends,” Jerry says. “We never had any problem with anybody.”
The Rouners have insurance. They appreciate Sandy Ward with American Family. She came to the house, stayed for hours, and made calls.
A member of their church will set an RV trailer on a concrete slab for them to live in until they are able to rebuild.
“They’re okay as far as insurance,” says their son Randy. “They lost a lot of memories.”
Jerry started out farming and raised hogs. Then he was with the state highway department for 32 years. He had lived in the house for 49 years, since 1971. He and Diane married in 1973. They started life together in the house on a farm in the middle of nowhere.
“That’s why we like it,” Jerry says.
The Rouners will celebrate their 47th anniversary soon. Jerry liked to carpenter. Diane liked kids. They made that work.
Jerry started with the original house in the center, which was over 100 years old.
“I had a picture of the original; not anymore,” he says.
He added to the front and back. He remodeled and rebuilt, put on siding, installed insulation. More rooms were added as the children grew and needed rooms of their own.
Diane says their house was a house for living. They raised livestock of all kinds, including an emu, and very much enjoyed watching the wildlife in the field across the highway.
They raised seven kids in the house: one stepdaughter, three of their own, and three adopted boys. They all graduated from the Gilman City School.
“We babysat kids in this home, too,” Diane says.
One of those “kids,” now grown, called when she heard about the fire. She told them she remembered the sweet tea and sandwiches.
“She always had a pacifier in her mouth,” Diane laughs. “One day she didn’t have it; she told us the hogs ate it.”
It hasn’t always been an easy life. Jerry survived a truck wreck that by all rights should have killed him. He came home in a neck brace and with his arm in a sling. He was helpless. Diane took care of him, pulled him through.
“I ended up with a scar and stove up, but I still get around,” he says.
A year later, Diane was diagnosed with cancer. He took care of her, pulled her through. She has survived cancer now for eight years.
Sifting through the rubble of the fire, a daughter, Amber, was able to recover a bird cage, a cauldron, and miscellaneous other things.
They are hoping to find Diane’s wedding rings. She didn’t wear them that morning.
“They won’t mean anything to replace,” Diane says.
“We lost our birth certificates, our marriage license, our deeds, our tax papers,” says Jerry. “All we have is the clothes on our back, and our Bibles. I guess we’re homeless.”
“We lost pictures of the kids that were hanging on the wall,” says Diane. “All the pictures of our family.”
The Rouners add that they believe everything happens for a purpose and the Good Lord will take care of them.
“We used to be the new kids on the block,” Jerry says. “Now we’re among the oldest.”
Life goes on. New neighbors are moving in. The Rouners have every intention of rebuilding. They’ll move a couple of trees and have an even better view of the wildlife.
“It’s just now soaking in, what we’ve lost and what we have to replace,” Jerry says. “It will take time. Diane and I, we’ve been through a lot, but we’ll make it.”