Fire destroys home near Opp
Published 12:34 am Saturday, May 19, 2012
A Hattaway Road residence was lost to fire Thursday night.
At 9:22 p.m., Onycha Fire Depa-rtment members were dispatched to 14291 Hatt-away Road, and when they arrived the more than 4,000 square foot home was fully involved.
The home is located between Opp and Kinston.
Records indicate the home belongs to Lee Martin and family, but no one was home at the time of the fire.
Firefighters requested aid from Kinston Volunteer Fire Department and also Florala Volunteer Fire Department.
“We have no idea of the cause,” OFD assistant chief Ernie DePrinzio said. “The owners were not there at the time. It appears to have started in the west end of the structure. By the time we got called out it, was fully involved, and when we arrived it was already in the attic and had spread.”
DePrinzio said firefighters battled the blaze until 3:21 a.m.
“We actually got called back out at 8 a.m., and they were there for three more hours,” he said. “With a tin roof, it’s hard to get it to stop.”
DePrinizo estimated the three departments used around 25,000 gallons of water.
DePrinzio said the cause of the fire is now being investigated by the state fire marshal.