EASTLAND COUNTY, Texas — (Editor's note: The attached video above is raw footage from the Eastland Complex fire)
UPDATE (4 p.m. March 18): Eastland County Sheriff Jason Weger confirmed the death of ECSO Deputy Sgt. Barbara Fenley in a press release Friday afternoon.
In the release, Weger said while evacuating people and going door-to-door, Fenley was last heard from going to check on an elderly person. With the extreme deteriorating conditions and low visibility from smoke, Fenley ran off the roadway and was engulfed in the fire, the release said.
"Sgt. Fenley gave her life in the service of others and loved her community. Sgt. Fenley began her law enforcement career with the City of Gorman September 5th 2003 as a patrol officer. She was later appointed as Gorman Chief of Police in January 2007. She served as Chief until 2013 when she became a deputy for Eastland County Sheriffs Office where she has worked since. Sgt Fenley was 51 years old and is survived by her husband and three children. She will be deeply missed."
Friday afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff in Eastland County in honor of Fenley.
ORIGINAL STORY: An Eastland County Sheriff's Office deputy died while trying to save others from the Eastland Complex fire Thursday, the Cisco Police Department said on social media Friday afternoon.
The Facebook post said, "It is with very heavy hearts that today we learned of the death of one our Eastland County Deputies who put it all on the line last night trying to save people from the horrible fires. Our sister Barbara Fenley will be deeply missed. She was a special servant and an attribute to our profession. We will kneel in prayer for her family, friends and colleagues as they mourn. RIP dear friend, you will be missed."
Fenley's son Jon shared the information about his mother's death on Facebook as well, saying: "I wanna thank everyone for the thoughts and Prayers, and I wanna thank everyone for helping us find mom. Unfortunately with the saddest news my mom has passed away, I just ask that you give us privacy in this moment while we collect our thoughts, I love everyone and I know she loved everyone and she loved the community of Gorman and Eastland County."
FOX West Texas reached out to the Eastland County Sheriff's Office for comment.
No information has been released as to where Fenley was when she was killed. Her death is the only fatality confirmed in the Eastland Complex fire, as of Friday.
Gena Camacho, Eastland County Children's Advocacy Center executive director, said this about Fenley, "Deputy Fenley served as part of our Children’s Advocacy Center’s Multi-Disciplinary Team and was MDT Member of the Year in 2012. Even when she was no longer investigating child abuse cases, her passion for raising awareness about child abuse and the families we served continued. That picture (above) was from our Wear Blue Day (Child Abuse Awareness Month) that she participated in in 2019. She did it every year. Overall, we always found her to be compassionate, funny, warm, and diligent in her work with us at the Center and at the Courthouse. We, as a staff and as part of this community, are heartbroken about this loss and she will deeply missed by all of us."