Fire damages house on Old Camilla Highway

Staff Reports

November 18, 2008 11:47 pm

— MOULTRIE — The Moultrie Fire Department was called to two separate fires early Tuesday morning. Although no one was injured in either fire, one of the fires heavily damaged a house.
The department was called to 813 First Ave. S.W. at 2:29 a.m. Tuesday about a small ceiling fire. Occupant Dorothy Parramore said wires from a ceiling fan shorted out, causing a fire in the fan’s junction box. She stated she threw water onto the fire to extinguish it before firefighters arrived.
The fire caused damage to the fan, damaged the ceiling in about a one-foot diameter, and burned some of the insulation. Firefighters ventilated the light smoke out of the house. The Red Cross of Colquitt County was on hand to provide assistance to Parramore and the firefighters.
The firefighters were called out to a more serious fire at 6:15 a.m. at 1606 Old Camilla Highway. When they arrived, firefighters saw heavy fire and smoke coming from the house.
The house’s occupant, Dale Cooley, was not at home but had let some of his workers stay there. One of those workers, whose names could not be obtained, was awakened by a smoke detector and was able to escape the house without injury.
The firefighters extinguished the fire, but it caused heavy fire, heat and smoke damage to the house. The fire ignited in the kitchen, but a cause could not be determined following an investigation. The fire was not considered suspicious, however.
Volunteers from the Red Cross arrived at the scene and provided assistance to the occupant and firefighters.