A Kilmichael home was damaged by fire Sunday night.
According to Kilmichael Fire Chief Dave Eldridge, his father, Kilmichael Chief of Police David Eldridge arrived at his home on Ridge Road around 10:20 p.m., and as he exited his vehicle, he heard a noise coming from the house across the street.
“It was the window popping out,” Dave Eldridge said of the home located at 607 Ridge Road. “[My dad] called it in.”
Eldridge said the home was recently vacated and the owner, Jim Devine, and his family were in the process of moving. The house was nearly empty but Eldridge said there was still some furniture inside the home.
“The preliminary cause was electrical,” Eldridge said.
Eldridge said the fire seemed to come from an electrical cord attached to heating lamps to keep the pipes warm inside the house.
“There was fire damage to the laundry room and kitchen area,” Eldridge said.
Eldridge said the Kilmichael Fire Department responded to the call with one truck, and approximately 10 firefighters responded.
In other fire news, crews from Kilmichael, Poplar Creek, Winona, and the Mississippi Forestry Department battled a grass fire on Highway 407 in Poplar Creek last Wednesday. The fire threatened two homes, but firefighters contained the flames and no damage was done.
A second grass fire was reported on Ellis Road Thursday, but no homes were threatened by that fire.
Eldridge said each fire consumed around 15 to 20 acres of land. He urged citizens to not be fooled by wet ground when burning. The grass is dry on top of the wet soil, he said, and heavy winds are also a factor in the spread of fire.
“We had trouble maneuvering around out there because of the wet terrain,” Eldridge said.
