By Ryan Palencer
Clermont — Nearly two weeks after the fatal fire that killed 13-year-old Tyler Hensley and left his mother Jeni Murphy burnt, the family continues to struggle with the loss.
To assist the family and the recovery process, the Tyler Hensley Fund has been set up. To aid the fund, a pair of Applebee’s restaurants will be hosting a “Dining to Donate” event where 15 percent of all sales will go to the fund. On July 20, the Brownsburg Applebee’s will donate and on July 28, the Speedway Applebee’s location will donate.
The Tyler Henley Fund will also accept donations at a pair banks — National City and Fifth-Third.
Hensley was pronounced dead at the scene, and Jeni was treated and released from Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis. While attempting to enter the burning mobile home to save her son, Jeni received several burns on her body.
“I went in twice to try to save Tyler and the second time, the trailer roof collapsed on me and burnt me,” Jeni said. “I was already burnt, but it burnt my whole back up.
“One of the guys came in and dragged me out of there. I was already on fire. He took my shirt off because it was on fire and gave me his. I broke away from them and went back in there to try to get him. I went back in that trailer twice to try to get my son.”
Jeni said she is recovering from the burns, but was told that she would need skin graphs. She was meeting with a doctor earlier this week to discuss what that will entail.
Although it was previously reported that Matt Murphy, Jeni’s husband, was home at the time, Murphy said that he was returning home from work when he received a phone call from a neighbor about the fire.
“By the time that he got there, the police and fire department were there,” Jeni said. “They wouldn’t let him go anywhere near the house.”
Jeni says a circuit blew, causing the entire left side of the mobile home to ignite. Hensley was sleeping on that side.
“It had grown so quickly that he never even had a chance to get out of his bed,” Jeni said. “He suffocated from the smoke in his bed and never had a chance to get out of there.”
The Murphys said they had previously developed a fire plan in the event of an emergency.
“You have to have a fire plan living in a trailer,” Jeni said. “Me and my kids had a fire plan, that in case anything would happen, they were to go out the back door, cross the tracks, and wait for me. Tyler never even had a chance. If that smoke detector would have went off, maybe he would have had a chance to wake up and get out of there.”
Jeni said that they family was living in the mobile home park on a temporary basis and had expected to be there only about another three months.
Jeni’s 7-year-old daughter also lived in the mobile home, but was not home at the time of the fire. She was with her father.
Fire investigators are still investigating the fire and believe the cause of the fire to be an overloaded circuit.
ryan.palencer@flyergroup.com
