Little Cypress house destroyed by fire Tuesday

January 30, 2007 11:41 pm

— By Tommy Mann Jr.
The Orange Leader

A small wood-frame house in the Little Cypress area was destroyed by a fire Tuesday afternoon, leaving one man with only the clothes he was wearing.
Chris Hunter, 25, rented the house at 2662 Elmira. He had walked down the street to visit a family member for lunch and returned to find the house on fire.
“I only walked about five houses down the road to eat lunch with my daddy,” Hunter said. “When I opened the door and walked in, the living room was already on fire.”
Hunter was the sole occupant of the residence since his brother had moved out because of a job opportunity.
“I didn’t leave anything on when I left,” Hunter said. “I don’t know what I am going to do. All I have left is what I am wearing right now.”
Hunter rented the house from Curtis Haliburton, who also lives in the neighborhood.
“This house has been a rent house for about 20 years,” said Carla Beckmann, Haliburton’s daughter. “My dad doesn’t have any homeowners’ insurance on it, so I don’t know what he’s going to do. I don’t know what the renter will do either. I’m sure he lost everything.”
Trucks from Orange County Emergency Services District 3 and the Pinehurst Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call about 3:45 p.m. Also responding to the call were personnel from Entergy, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Keith Merritt, Constable of Orange County Precinct 1.
Elgin Browning, fire chief of OCESD 3, said the fire is still under investigation and the cause is “undetermined, but could be cigarette-related.”
No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.

Reach this reporter at 409-883-3571, ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com

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