A Eudora teen’s attempt to ready his house for a graduation party turned disastrous Saturday, when a kitchen fire spread into a blaze that left his family home a smoldering ruin.

Home alone while his parents attended a wedding reception south of Gardner, Jordan Born, 17, spent Saturday afternoon cleaning his house at 1004 14th St. in Eudora for a party that was to have taken place tonight in recognition of his graduation from Free State High School. According to several neighbors who were with Born at the scene shortly after the fire started, Born had set the family’s oven to “clean” mode and then left the residence to go to a local convenience store. When he returned, smoke was billowing from the house.

Eudora’s Deputy Fire Chief Mike Underwood confirmed that the fire had started in the kitchen and that Born was out of the house at the time, but he said an official cause of the fire had yet to be determined.

Unaware that neighbor Angie Hadl had already called 911, Born rushed into the structure to try to extinguish the fire himself. He sustained minor burns to his arms in the process, but was treated at the scene and released.

When Eudora’s volunteer fire department arrived on the scene at 4:50 p.m., black smoke was pouring from the kitchen, Underwood said. Units from the Wakarusa and Eudora Township fire departments aided in fighting the blaze.

Born’s grandmother, Hilda Tuttle, who lives on the east side of Eudora, watched in tears with other family members gathered on the street as firefighters struggled to quell the blaze that had engulfed the northeast side of the house.

“It’s just horrible,” Tuttle said. “Just horrible.”

By the time crews had the fire extinguished at 5:30 p.m., a portion of the roof had collapsed and the inside was gutted. The house was a total loss, Underwood said.

After a neighbor called to inform them of the situation, Born’s parents, Johnny and Cindy Born, left the wedding reception, where Johnny was working as a disc jockey, and rushed back to Eudora.

City of Eudora firefighters attempt to put out a blaze at 1004 W. 14th St. One fire official said the home was a total loss.

Johnny Born, who had just built an addition on the home with Jordan last year, said he was grateful for the support of friends and family members who had gathered near the house.

“We’re just thankful no one was hurt and for all of our friends and relatives who’ve come out,” Johnny Born said.

Though Johnny Born remained remarkably composed Saturday in the wake of the tragedy, the blaze represents a significant emotional and financial loss. The family had lived there since building the house in 1991, and Cindy had run Beary Best Day Care out of the structure.

Several people at the scene claimed it had taken firefighters nearly 20 minutes to arrive after the blaze started, though the official times from the Douglas County emergency dispatcher show that the first engine arrived on the scene seven minutes after the firefighters had gotten the call.

Barb Newcomb, a 30-year Eudora resident who lives within sight of the Born home, said the incident added to evidence that Eudora needed a full-time fire department that could respond more quickly to house fires. A home on Church Street was lost to a fire April 14.

“Eudora is growing and it’s getting to the place where we need to look at getting a full-time fire department,” Newcomb said. “Look at what people have lost.”

6News video: Resident says Eudora needs full-time fire fighters (05-15-05)

Johnny Born said that he, too, was dissatisfied with the response time to the blaze.

“I’m not real pleased with how fast they put it out,” he said. “I think these firefighters are working really hard and doing the best they can. But I don’t think the upper management is up to par.”

Underwood, however, said the firefighters had arrived to the scene in a quick manner.

“I’m very comfortable with the way that happened,” he said.

The fire department will release its report on the incident later this week, Underwood said.

Despite the tragedy, Johnny and Cindy said they planned to attend Jordan’s graduation ceremony this afternoon.