‘A good mom': Daughter remembers devastating tent fire that claimed her mother's life
BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) —Last Monday in Blount County a fire sparked by a wood stove and propane heater tragically destroyed the bell tent of Julie Whetstone, resulting in severe upper body burns that led to her death.
Monday evening Whetstone's Daughter, Paige McCleary, was spending time with her mother, receiving a gift ahead of her birthday next week. Just an hour later, tragedy struck. Later that night McCleary was woken up by her boyfriend to discover her mother's tent burned down, leaving her mom severely injured.
'He woke me up and grabbed a blanket off my bed and rushed me out into the yard, and her whole tent was on fire…there was nothing left but fire, and she was laying in the grass, and he covered her with a blanket. He ran in there and pulled her out of the fire. She was burned really badly, and she kept saying that her hands hurt and that she was cold and then she said that she was thirsty, and I went and got her some water,' explained McCleary.
Not long after, Whetstone was rushed to UT Medical Center where she died around 4:30 am.
McCleary shares the close relationship she had with her mom. 'My mom and I had a very special relationship. We've been very, very close. She's my best friend. My dad died when I was eight, and we kind of survived that together and we've been through a lot of hardships. I took her to a jellyroll concert a couple of weeks ago, and she was screaming louder than I was……….and she was just really something.'
McCleary hopes others will take away the importance of fire safety to prevent similar incidents.
'When me and her started this off-grid living, it was really a learn as you go kind of thing. Man, there's a lot when it comes to fire safety and electrical safety that we just we just didn't know. I think people need to know, and I think another thing is the housing crisis, because my mom should've been in a house, she shouldn't have had to be homeless,' added McCleary.
McCleary shares with 6 news that she feels numb, and it's been hard to process what has happened. She started a fundraiser through 'GoFundMe' for her mother's arrangements and memorial services.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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