Fire consumed the inside of a home on White Hall’s south side yesterday afternoon.
White Hall Fire Chief Garry Sheppard says that initial calls came into local dispatch at approximately 1:40 yesterday afternoon from a neighboring residence at 301 Tunison Avenue.
Sheppard says that heavy flames were showing out of two second story windows of the structure after the first engine arrived on the scene within 3 minutes of the call. Mutual aid was radioed for from Roodhouse and Carrollton Fire Departments.
Sheppard says that after all engines were on scene, the fire was suppressed in a matter of minutes: “I had 13 firemen on scene. We were there about 2 1/2 hours. We brought the fire under control probably within the first 15 minutes. After we got the fire under control, we were able to get inside. In fact, we had to fight the fire from the inside [of the home] because it had gotten into the second story. The first story was pretty well intact, but the second story had major damage. We attacked it from inside and got it out. It appears to have started electrically in a closet on the first floor and spread up the stairs to the second story.”
Sheppard says the homeowners were not at home at the time, but the family dog was in the home. He says that firefighters were able to get the dog out safely as well as several items of belongings for the homeowners.
Sheppard says one firefighter did get injured during suppression efforts: “I did have a fireman injured in the first 10 minutes of being on the scene. We were pulling hoses off of an engine to a hydrant. We did have a bit a problems with the hydrants. The first one we hooked onto didn’t work, so we had to go to a second one. As we were going to the second hydrant, a hose came flying off the hose bed and the end struck one of my firemen in the head, and we had to send him to the hospital. They did a CT Scan on him. He’s fine. He was released about an hour and a half later. I was thankful [it wasn’t worse.]”
Sheppard says the homeowners may have found a place to stay while further investigation and determination into whether the home will be salvageable or not.