Volunteer firefighters throughout Pearl River County responded to almost 100 calls over the Thanksgiving holiday, two of which involved structure fires.
Pearl River County Fire Marshal Albert Lee said that in addition to the two structure fires, volunteer firefighters responded to 49 medical calls, 10 vehicle accidents, 28 grass, brush or wood fires and a vehicle fire that resulted in minor damage to a cotton baler.
The first structure fire occurred on Nov. 28, when emergency personnel responded a call just before 2 a.m. concerning a house fire at 444 Frank Smith Rd., in the Derby White Sand area. Lee said in a press release that the owner of the rental home, which was unoccupied at the time, was out of town when the fire occurred. In addition to the Derby White Sand Volunteer Fire Department, firefighters from Amackertown, Northeast and McNeill Volunteer Fire Departments responded. Additionally, firefighters with Poplarville Fire Department and deputies with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department were on scene.
Lee said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
That same day at 3:11 p.m. firefighters with the Derby White Sand Volunteer Fire Department responded to a woods fire threatening nearby structures. The release states that emergency personnel arrived to find several fields on fire, but no structures were damaged.
Derby Whitesand, McNeill and Northeast Volunteer Fire Departments worked together to put the fire out, Lee said in the release.
After the blaze was extinguished an initial investigation showed the fire was the result of a neighbor burning debris nearby.
Volunteer firefighters responded to a second structure fire Sunday just after 2 p.m. at a home located at 74 Marrero Lane in Henleyfield. The first unit on scene reported the home to be fully involved. Firefighters from McNeill, Pine Grove and Carriere Volunteer Fire Departments arrived on scene and were able to extinguish the flames, but the fire destroyed the home. Lee said in the release that the fire is suspected to have began on the kitchen stove, and listed the cause as accidental.
“It looks like some of our volunteers ate cold or warmed over Thanksgiving dinner,” Lee said in the release. “We need to thank all of these men and women that responded to these calls. These are our local heroes.”