Firemen knock down fire in one area, and it pops out in another. A firecall came in to the 911 dispatchers just a few minutes after 4:00 p.m. Monday, June 28. The call reported that lightning had struck a house at 50 Jeterville Road, just off of Phillipsburg Road.

By the time the fire trucks arrived, flames were shooting through the roof of the 100-plus-year-old house.

Owners, Jerry and Linda Atterson, were at home when the lightning strike occurred.

The firemen and the trucks got there about as fast as they possibly could. This reporter left when the call was dispatched and let the first fire truck go around on Jeterville and Phillipsburg roads.

“It seemed like the lightning hit the TV antenna and came into the home. Then the rotor box began to smoke, and there was smoke in the house,” Mrs. Atterson said. “I’ve got two cats in the house. They wouldn’t get out; they were so scared.”

The cats made it out, since much of the living area was saved.

One of the first firemen to the scene stated that this was going to be a hot one and one hard to extinguish. The home was built of heart pine, which is very tough to put out.

The firemen would put the hot flames down in one area of the large home, and they would pop out in another part of the roof.

At 6:00 p.m. Monday evening, the Colquitt/Miller Volunteer Fire Department was still sending tankers to town to refill. Much of the roof was burned, and the inside sustained some fire, heat and water damage, but due to the tongue and groove ceiling, much of the living area was saved. The ceiling contained most of the fire to the roof.

There was plenty of help and equipment; it’s just almost impossible to extinguish fat lighter structures, but they did.

The Attersons bought this house in Colquitt from Dr. Jess Hester almost five years ago and stated that they had enjoyed living there and making it their home. The many firemen on duty and more were called in to help the Attersons move the saved contents to safer quarters. The firemen returned to the station after 8:00 p.m. and finished cleaning the trucks, hose and equipment around 10 :00 p.m.The Colquitt/Miller County Fire and Rescue are the best, anywhere. Thank them! That’s their pay, since most of them are volunteers.