Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.
A Lamont family home went up in flames during the night of Sunday, Nov. 3.
That night, firefighters with the Jefferson County Fire Rescue (JCFR) were dispatched to the scene of a burning home located on Cook Road in Lamont.
According to the report issued by the JCFR, when firefighters arrived on the scene at 7:37 p.m., the residential structure was already showing substantial fire damage through the roof.
Several lines of hose were deployed to fight the flames, with firefighters forcing entry into the burning home through the side doors in an attempt to fight the fire from the inside.
Using several tactics to keep the fire from spreading and 10,000 gallons of water, local firefighters from the JCFR and many volunteer departments fought the flames for several hours.
In addition to the JCFR engines, Engine 2 from the Monticello Volunteer Fire Department, Engine 7 from the Wacissa Volunteer Fire Department and Tanker 5 from the Lloyd Volunteer Fire Department were all on the scene to provide water and assistance during the fire.
The fight against the fire lasted for several hours, and firefighters would leave the scene of the burning home until close to midnight at 11:07 p.m.
Once the fire had been extinguished, an investigation was conducted, and it was determined that the fire had started due to an electrical malfunction.
"[The] fire appears to be electrical in nature," states the JCFR report, adding that the fire appeared to have started in the bathroom before it traveled up into the attic and then into the rest of the house.
Despite the hours of effort that the team of multi-department firefighters put into saving the home, the home suffered approximately $133,000 in property and $30,000 in damages – resulting in almost a complete loss of the house.
While the home suffered extreme destruction, the JCFR reports that the home's residents, Gwendolyn Parker and William Parker, were not home at the time of the fire, and no injuries were sustained due to the fire.