Family Remembers Madison County Man Killed in
157 views · Published 9 February 2015 · 2:07 · Indexed 9 October 2026
Channel: WLOS News 13 · 2015 · News & Politics
Crews worked for hours Saturday morning to put out a trailer fire in Madison County, but couldn't save the man who called it home. The family says William DeGroot, Senior, was killed in that fire, though his wife made it out with some injuries. Just after 3:00am, a fire broke out in a single-wide mobile home on Clarks Branch Road in Madison County. When crews arrived, it was fully involved. William and Shirley DeGroot lived there, just down the road from their kids. "My sister called me and said there was a fire, so we just loaded up and rushed straight over there from that point," William DeGroot JR, his son, said. His father's name wasn't the only thing he passed down. "I couldn't ask for a better dad," William JR said. "It was a DeGroot thing. He kind of left a legacy of who and what he was." A father to four, grandfather to seven and great-grandfather to two more, William Senior had produced a lot of love in his lifetime. "We're a tight-knit family and I count my dad for that." Even in his last moments, his family says William poured his heart into his loved ones. William's kids aren't sure what happened in the confusion of those early hours, but they're certain their father gave it all to save his wife. William woke Shirley up when he noticed the fire. His kids think he may have gone back into the burning home to save the family dogs as well. Shirley was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation injuries. The Madison County Sheriff's Office is investigating the cause of the fire, though, the family believes it may have started in the fireplace. The family says they are thankful for the support from their Leicester community. _______________ Follow WLOS on social media: WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/News13/ WLOS ABC 13 News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WLOS_13 WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wlos_13 Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ABC13Channel/?sub_confirmation=1 Listen to AnchorMOMS, the Podcast: https://wlos.com/news/anchormoms/anchormoms-the-podcast Watch more top local news stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk8Ge6UXHJs&list=PLkVbaoT-aYbIvnEpR0Ct5QQQqYaORUSUH For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit http://www.wlos.com Watch our live newscasts and other live video at https://wlos.com/watch Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340 WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.
