Front Page
House fire claims the life of young Bonham resident
By Allen Rich
Dec 21, 2004

Bonham, Texas -- It is one of every family's worse fears, waking to a raging house fire.  At approximately 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning, one Bonham family on West 9th Street had to face that terrifying scenario and the resulting blaze claimed the life of three-year-old Clay Jackson. 

Clay's six-year-old sister, Aubrey Carpenter, remains hospitalized in a Little Rock, Arkansas hospital burn unit and his father, 24-year-old Chris Jackson, was released from that same facility Monday.  At the time of the incident, the Little Rock burn unit was the closest facility specializing in treating burn victims that had two slots available and a helicopter was dispatched from the hospital to transport Jackson and his daughter. 

Family members say Clay's mother, 25-year-old Shannon Henderson Jackson, escaped serious after Chris Jackson threw her out of their bedroom window to safety.  They say Jackson then grabbed the couple's oldest son, four-year-old Gage Jackson, and almost made it out the front of the wood frame house before an explosion from the rear of the structure knocked them both down, temporarily separating the two in the heavy smoke.  Jackson managed to find young Gage and carry the child outside.  Jackson was unable to locate the couple's youngest son, Clayton Jim Jackson, and the three-year-old perished in the fire.

Due to an immediate response from the community, plenty of clothes and furniture have already been donated, with a bedroom suit coming from as far away as Azle, Texas.  The family could still use non-perishable foods, money or gift cards, because they lost everything in the early morning fire.  The heat was so intense that the dashboard melted on a truck in the driveway.   

To make donations, please go to any American Bank of Texas branch.  An account to benefit the Chris Jackson family has already been set up at the bank.

Family visitation night will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 22 at Cooper-Sorrels Chapel in Bonham.  Funeral services for Clay Jackson are set for 2:00 p.m. Thursday, December 23 at Cooper-Sorrells Funeral Home in Bonham.

The heat melted the dashboard on this pickup in the driveway.

Three-year-old Clayton Jim Jackson died in the early morning fire on East 9th Street in Bonham.