By Staff
BATTLING THE BLAZE n Whynot volunteer firefighters battle a Monday morning house fire on Water Valley Road. Photo by Marianne Todd/The Meridian Star
By Marianne Todd/The Meridian Star
Dec. 5, 2000
WHYNOT County fire officials are working to determine the cause of a Monday fire that destroyed a Water Valley Road home in this small community.
Sims said officials, who on Monday afternoon were still trying to identify and locate the home's owner, believe the cause of the fire was accidental.
Sims said the home was fully involved when volunteer firefighters from Whynot, Causeyville and Vimville volunteer fire departments arrived. No one was in the house at the time of the fire, Sims said.
Firefighters, who received the call at 11:40 a.m., used about 7,000 gallons of water from two tankers to fight the flames. Firefighters also set up a "dump tank" on the scene, a makeshift holding tank so that tankers can dump their water then refill at another location.
Meanwhile, fire officials said they believe the cause of a Saturday fire that claimed one life was ignited by an electric heater in the victim's bedroom. The fire occurred at about 6:30 p.m. at 10896 Henry Wedgeworth Road.
Butler said a preliminary investigation indicated the man attempted to escape through the front door, but was likely overcome by heat and smoke. The man's body was discovered in the home about 6 feet from the front door. A rear door had been barricaded, Butler said.
Although the man is believed to have been a tenant of the home, owned by Henry Wedgeworth, officials are awaiting autopsy results before they release his name, the official cause of death and the cause of fire, Butler said.
Marianne Todd is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at mtodd@themeridianstar.com.