A family was displaced after multiple fire departments responded to a report of a structure fire in Greene County on Thursday.
At approximately 7:15 pm, the White Hall Fire Department was called to the 400 block of Hancock Street in White Hall for a report of a fire in a single-family home.
White Hall Fire Chief Cale Hoseman says he had to pass by the scene of the fire to get to the fire station. “At that point, I noticed the rear part of the structure was completely on fire with flames coming out of the windows.
So Roodhouse was called for mutual aid at that point and when all the departments got there, of course, they did a pretty good job of extinguishing the fire. It started in the back bedroom of the house. We did have one cat that was in the residence that did not make it out. But everybody else made it out safely and there were no injuries.”
Hoseman says the fire was contained to the rear of the home and according to a preliminary investigation by the White Hall Fire Department, the fire was most likely caused by an electrical issue.
He says that even though the blaze was contained in the rear section, the damage along with water and smoke damage that occurred in the front of the house led the structure to be considered a total loss.
“It was a residence occupied by five people, a mother, father and then three children. They lost all of their belongings, their clothing, and that kind of thing. I know the churches and local organizations are helping them to get back on their feet”
Hoseman says crews were on scene for approximately two and a half hours Thursday night. Roodhouse gave mutual aid while the Carrollton Fire Department was alerted and placed on standby but was not called to the scene. Green County EMS also responded to the scene.
The White Hall First Christian Church is accepting donations for the family. A complete list of needed items including types and sizes of clothing can be found on the White Hall First Christian Church Facebook page.