Nine structure fires keep Dist. 1 units running

Four fires occur on Thanksgiving Day

From staff reports

Nine fires in a week would be considered busy for any full-time fire department, but for the volunteers in Jones County District 1 it has almost been overwhelming.

The units that encompass Calhoun, Hebron, Pleasant Ridge and Soso have been on the run since Tuesday evening when a two story metal clad home caught fire north of Soso on Highway 28.

A wood frame home located at 70 Fred Ellzey Road in the Hebron Community burned to the ground Tuesday night, but was not discovered until daylight Wednesday. Hebron Volunteer Fire & Rescue Chief Billy Smith drove by the property and noticed the house was completely gone.

“There was a little smoke, but otherwise it had burned to the ground,” Smith said. “No one apparently noticed it was burning as it is in an isolated area so 911 was never called and our volunteer fire departments were never dispatched.”

The home is owned by Sherry James and was used as a rental property. According to James, the home was unoccupied at the time of the fire.

Later Wednesday, these same fire units responded to a kitchen fire on Hwy. 28, their third response in less than 16 hours.

Things really got out of control Thanksgiving Day when four fires occurred within District 1. At around 9:30 a.m., units responded to a structure fire of a single-wide trailer at 31 Scarborough Drive in Hebron. The fire originated in a clothes dryer. An aggressive interior attack prevented the blaze from consuming the rest of the dwelling.

An electrical source appears to be the cause of the second fire Thursday at 223 Crepe Myrtle Lance in Calhoun. Neighbors discovered the fire and Calhoun VFD found smoke and a small fire near a window of the trailer. The fire was quickly knocked down.

While at the Crepe Myrtle fire, District 1 units were dispatched to a structure fire at 323 Schoolhouse Road in Soso where they found a fully involved blaze with heavy fire coming through the roof of the trailer. Calhoun, Soso, Hebron and Pleasant Ridge all responded. The cause was likely electrical, although the homeowner was not present.

At that same time, while fire departments were enroute to the report of a s structure fire at 14 Thiac Drive in Calhoun, the occupants were able to knock the flames down. During the process, one occupant received first and second degree burns to his arm, back and chest area from hot grease which was burning on the stove.

Units from Calhoun, Hebron, Soso, and Pleasant Ridge were still battling the blaze on Schoolhouse Road, but were able to release some fire apparatus and personnel and also requested Shady Grove and the City of Ellisville to respond to assist.

The ninth fire occurred in the early morning hours Friday with the report of a fully involved structure fire at 20 Shady Oak Road in Soso. The family was able to escape the burning home.

“I cannot think of a time in recent history, outside of Hurricane Katrina when the power was being turned on, when Jones County has had eight structure fires in one fire district over a four day span,” said Jones County Fire Council Public Information Officer.

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