Little Cypress home burns after Thursday night storms
Published 3:55 pm Friday, May 10, 2019
Eric Williams/The Orange Leader
Eric Williams/The Orange Leader
Eric Williams/The Orange Leader
Eric Williams/The Orange Leader
Eric Williams/The Orange Leader
Eric Williams/The Orange Leader
Eric Williams/The Orange Leader
By Eric Williams
The Orange Leader
LITTLE CYPRESS — A house fire on Friday morning has displaced a family of five from their home in the 2800 block of Dewitt Lane in the Little Cypress
area.
The two occupants who were home at the time of the fire were able to escape the burning home safely, along with their dogs, said OCESD3 Fire Chief M. Manshack.
Home owner Janice Campbell said, “I was at work at the time of the fire and two of my relatives were home.”
Campbell’s son reported the electricity had just came back on from being off from Thursday’s nights storms.
“He heard a loud bang and other noises, before he noticed the
home filing up with smoke,” Campbell said. “They started checking the
house to locate the source, and as they approached the center of the
home the attic had smoke coming from through the roof.”
Within a matter of minutes the home quickly became engulfed in flames.
Little Cypress Fire Department got the call about the fire at 10:54 a.m., and when the first truck arrived, firefighters “reported heavy fire from the roof of the house,” Manshack said.
Campbell could only sit and wait for fire fighters to quickly extinguish the blaze to search for priceless memories of her deceased husband that she was determined to salvage. With the help of fire fighters her husbands belongings were safely brought out the home and returned to Campbell.
Her face was filled with tears of joy as she hugged her kids and family members on scene.
The cause of the fire is undetermined, but it was not considered suspicious due to the recent weather and flood waters.
The home suffered major water, smoke, and fire damages and appears to be a total lost.
American Red Cross is assisting the residents with emergency food, clothing and shelter.
Orange County ESD 4, and 2 along with South Newton County ESD 1 Fire Departments assisted with the fire.
