A pair of fires destroyed two Oktibbeha County homes over the weekend but didn’t hurt any residents.
The first fire was reported at a home at 2649 Polly Bell Road at just after 8 p.m. Saturday. The Adaton/Self Creek and Maben volunteer fire departments responded to the fire, according to County Fire Coordinator Kirk Rosenhan.
Firefighters found the structure fully involved upon arrival. Rosenhan said the home’s two occupants escaped without injury, though the home was a total loss. He said firefighters remained on scene for several hours.
A second home fire on Parnell Road, west of Sturgis, was reported at 12:19 p.m. Saturday. The Sturgis and Central Oktibbeha volunteer fire departments responded, along with the fire departments from Bywy and Ackerman in Choctaw County.
The home was fully involved by the time firefighters arrived, Rosenhan said. It was a total loss, and Rosenhan said one of two family dogs died in the fire.
Rosenhan added the Sturgis fire spread to the woods near the home, and firefighters had to respond with three brush trucks to stop it from spreading further.
No one was harmed in the fire, as the home’s occupants were on the way home from church. He said the home’s owner, Scott Stallings, is a Sturgis firefighter.
In both cases, Oktibbeha-Starkville Emergency Response Volunteer Services (OSERVS) is assisting the victims. Rosenhan added the Adaton Baptist Church is collecting donations for the Sturgis fire victims.
Rosenhan said it’s unusual to have back-to-back structure fires, but it may be due to power consumption during the cold weather.
“We assume both of these were probably electrical,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of these electrical-type fires in the past month. Electrical systems in houses have been under strain with heaters and such because of the weather.
“If you’re in your home and you notice flickering or dimming lights, be sure to get it checked,” he added.
Despite the losses, Rosenhan said he was pleased with the firefighters’ responses to both incidents.
“All in all, the county volunteer firefighters did a great job in fighting these fires,” Rosenhan said. “An adequate water supply was established, but in both cases the fire was well advanced upon discovery.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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