Fire destroys Drewryville house

Published 11:05 am Friday, June 22, 2018

DREWRYVILLE
The unoccupied house that caught fire early Friday morning in downtown Drewryville is a total loss, and will have to be demolished because it could fall into the street. That’s been confirmed by Dennis Whitby, safety officer for the Drewryville Volunteer Fire Department.

Firefighters attend to the fire of the house next to the Drewryville Post Office early Friday morning. The residence was unoccupied at the time, and will be have to demolished. — Submitted | Gary Ramsey

The firefighters got the call around 4:30 a.m. and worked until approximately 8 a.m. to control and then eliminate the blaze. They had only to take their equipment across the street to where the house was situated next to the post office.

The possible causes of the fire are either electrical or lightning strikes, said Whitby.

He also said the house and the P.O. shared a parapet wall, which is an extension of a wall that goes above the roof. That wall collapsed onto the roof of the P.O. and went through to its floor. That plus water damage has compelled mail service to be done from the Capron office for the time being.

Other than two firefighters experiencing heat exhaustion, there were no other injuries according to Whitby.

There is a man who lives in the house sometimes, but he was not there at the time of the blaze.

Whitby also thanked the volunteers from the Branchville, Boykins, Capron, Courtland and Jarratt fire departments for their assistance.