Firemen fight blaze from inside and outside. destroys home

A house fire was called into 911 Tuesday morning, October 28, at 8:18 a.m. at 2458 Avenue Road, just off of Phillipsburg Road. Becky Stark was listed as the owner.

Fire and EMS units were dispatched to this structural fire with a possible victim inside.

On arrival, the firemen found smoke coming from the roof of the house and flames were visible from the rear windows on the north side of the home. Flames were also visible from the vent on the lower roof and the upper roof line on the south side of the house.

Firemen fought the flames from the interior and exterior of the home. The firemen went into the home to search for the reported victim.

The fire command was notified that the occupant of the house had been accounted for at another location, and there was no one inside the house.

The firemen inside the house were pulled out due to the heavy fire involvement in the attic loft area of the structure. The fire was attacked from the exterior of the building, and the flames were knocked down. The firemen then went back inside to extinguish the inside of the structure. When the flames and hot spots were knocked down, the firemen assisted the home occupants to remove and save what could be possibly salvaged.

Fire Investigator Scott Worsley was called to the scene to determine the cause of the fire. It was determined that a defective electrical socket was the cause.

The Colquitt/Miller Fire and Emergency Department arrived on the scene at 8:25 a.m., had the fire under control at 10:58 a.m. and cleared the scene at 11:44 a.m.

There was extensive damage to the structure and contents due to the fire, heat and smoke.

Dorothy Richardson stated that she had just borrowed money to roof the structure.

There were 22 firemen and EMS officers involved with the fire. There was one ambulance with two EMS officers. There were nine fire vehicles including fire engines, tankers and personnel vehicles. Of the 21 fire and rescue officers, only three or four are paid. The rest were volunteers. This does not include the Sheriff's deputies at the scene that assisted.

Chief Craig Tully stated that when a fire is called out with a possible victim inside, more personnel and equipment are dispatched to help. He stated that any fire can possibly have victims inside and that is how they are treated until the scene is checked out.