Community | April 04, 2011 | 9 comments

Houston County fire station burns down

source: http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20110330/NEWS01/103300323/1002/

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A blaze late Monday night destroyed the Houston County Fire Department's station in McKinnon.

The cause of the 11 p.m. fire, which also destroyed two trucks, is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal's Office.

According to Houston County Fire Chief David Hardin, one of trucks was a 2,000-gallon tanker bought by the county for $20,000 last year, and the other was a 1972 utility vehicle that was in good working condition.

The chief said he didn't yet know if the firehouse blaze, plus fires that destroyed a vacant home and an abandoned motel in Erin during the weekend, were related to each other or to three barn fires and a trailer fire in the Erin area last week.

Anyone with information on the fires should call the state arson hotline at 1-800-762-3017.

Between the trucks and the sheet metal building, Hardin valued the McKinnon destruction at more than $100,000.

"This is such a huge loss to the county," Hardin said while surveying the scene.

Also present was Sheriff Darrell Allison, who said, "This is terrible."

Three state fire inspectors sifted through the ruins on Tuesday morning and afternoon, looking for clues.

Hardin said it normally takes inspectors two days to examine a scene, and that they operate under the assumption of arson.

The station was on Mathis Road, next to the McKinnon Community Center near the intersection of Highways 147 and 232.

"When we got here, it was fully involved," Hardin said.

He said calls in the McKinnon area will be covered by the department's Tennessee Ridge station.


http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20110330/NEWS01/103300323/1002/
  1. groups:
    Community,   WTF,   US News,   Odd News,   7 more
  2. tags:
    Texas,  Fire,  Houston,  Firehouse
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