Remembering the six 25 years later: Vigil set to honor those who died in Catlettsburg fire in 1997

Sep. 10—CATLETTSBURG — A devastating fire took six lives and devoured three buildings, including apartments, on Center Street in Catlettsburg 25 years ago this Monday.

In the wee hours of the morning of Sept. 12, 1997, Michael DeBoard, Courtney DeBoard, Tara Petty, Mary Jane Jenkins, Kenny Jenkins and Mark Lee Jenkins lost their lives. Petty was Courtney's mom and Michael's girlfriend — they were just 11 days from marriage. She was just 18. The Jenkinses were 68, 30 and 8, respectively.

Tammy DeBoard, Kathy Jenkins and others close to the six have conducted a vigil every year since the tragedy, beginning with the evening following the day of their death.

This year's vigil marks 25 years since the disaster. It's set for Monday night at 8:30 in the lot beside of Tri-State Pump & Supply — 2505 Center Street is the fire's exact location. A plaque preserving their memory is on a brick wall next to a large American flag.

"Anybody and everybody is welcome," Tammy DeBoard said.

"It helps so much, it really does," said Kathy Jenkins, the mother of Mark Lee. She is Kenny's sister-in-law and Mary Jane's daughter-in-law.

The DeBoards and Petty lived near the front of one of the three buildings. The Jenkinses resided near the back of it.

Mark Lee was spending the night with his grandmother and uncle that night.

"She was his world," Kathy said of Mary Jane's relationship to Mark Lee, who was just two weeks from his 9th birthday.

Phylena Beresh, then 24, survived the tragic fire, escaping with foot and back injuries.

Authorities concluded it was an accidental fire caused by electrical problems.

It was the most lethal fire in Kentucky since the Beverly Hills Supper Club caught ablaze in May 1977, when 165 died.

"It feels like some days it was yesterday," Kathy Jenkins said. "People say it gets easier but that's not the truth."

Father Michael DeBoard, who was 29, attempted to save the life of his newborn daughter, Courtney, when he jumped out of a window with her in his arms. However, he landed awkwardly and slammed his head on the sidewalk, resulting in his death. Courtney, who was born on 7/7/97, died a few hours later at King's Daughters Medical Center.

"I'm sure he tried to protect that child the best he could," said then-Boyd County Coroner Mike Neal.

He was remembered by friends as a "proud daddy."

"He was a great man, worked two jobs, and the most important thing in his life was his daughter," Tammy DeBoard said on Friday. "Him and Courtney were inseparable. She loved her daddy."

Tammy DeBoard, who is the last remaining living sibling of six, said she would've been in that apartment that night, too, if it wasn't for her brother persuading her to pursue a job opportunity in Idaho. At age 32, she left Catlettsburg a month prior to the fire.

DeBoard, now 57, will never forget finding out the horrific news.

"I was getting ready for work, and two police officers knocked on the door," DeBoard said. "... It took me 15 minutes to walk to a pay phone and I confirmed it through a cousin of mine."

Tammy's sister, Edna, was with Courtney in the hospital. Courtney took her last breath about 4 1/2 hours after arriving at KDMC.

Mike and Edna Moyers got married on Sept. 23, 1997 — the same day Michael and Tara were to be wed. Both Mike and Edna died within the last few years. Their daughter, Shana McKenzie, will be at Monday's vigil. She's amazed at her aunt Tammy's character.

"She's the last sibling of all her siblings," McKenzie said. "If she wouldn't have gone (to Idaho), there'd be no one left to carry this on.

"She also survived breast cancer," McKenzie added about Tammy.

As The Daily Independent reported in 1997, "the fire started in a building housing four apartments and Cy's Thrift Shop at 2505 Center Street and raced across the roofs of two neighboring buildings shortly before 5 a.m., said Deputy Fire Chief Charles Runyon."

The building in which the fire started was owned by James Adkins Jr., a Catlettsburg attorney at the time. The other two buildings housed Community Help and the Center Line Body Shop. All three were a complete loss.

The area is just an open lot in front of a grassy hill adjacent to the flood wall.

After every vigil, the children will roll down the hill just as Mark Lee used to love to do.

"He was a ball of energy," Kathy Jenkins said of her son. A picture of Mark Lee hangs on a wall in her and husband Mark's home. "My grandbabies know who he is."

Kathy, who lives in the Coalton area, remembered Kenny as a "know-it-all," she laughed. "He loved to referee ball games, big-time sports fan, loved UK."

She recalled Mary Jane as "just Mom. That sums her up."

Both Tammy DeBoard and Kathy Jenkins remember their loved ones daily. They want the public to join them in honoring them on Monday.

(606) 326-2664 — asnyder@dailyindependent.com