Holiday fire takes family’s home

By Staff
Nathan Strickland
Flames shot through the roof as Russellville Fire and Rescue crews arrived to put out the blaze early Sunday morning.
Crystal Garrison and family, of 1610 Waterloo Road, were away for the holidays when the fire engulfed their home just before 5 a.m. Sunday. Fire Chief Joe Mansell said there wasn’t much firefighters could do to save the house.
Mansell said he hates to see this happen to anyone at anytime, especially around the holidays.
The state fire marshal was called in to investigate the fire. The cause is still unknown, officials said.
Mansell said with cold weather, people begin running heaters more. He hopes every home is equipped with a working smoke detector so in case of a fire, the family will have a greater chance to get out.
Statistics show that smoke detectors nearly triple a person’s chance of survival during a fire.