AFD fire officials use defensive attack

An electrical short on a ceiling fan was the cause of a fire that claimed a Marshall Ave. residence in the early morning hours of Feb. 24, according to Atmore fire officials.

Chief Ronald Peebles said the resident had some ceiling fans on in there, and they shorted out, causing a fire that was hesitant to go out once extinguished.

Peebles said firefighters took an offensive attack on the house at the start, however.

“I felt like it was too dangerous,” Peebles said. “We blew the air horn three times and that means back out of the house. When I got there, we went strictly to a defensive attack.”

Peebles said the AFD utilized its deluge or deck gun to shoot an arch of water from the street onto the residence.

The reason why the deck gun was used was because it was hard for the firefighters to get the fire out on the backside of the house, Peebles said.

Peebles said the house was a total loss.

On the fire being hesitant to go out, Peebles said the house was built out of old 2-by-6 wood turned into lighters.

“That’s where most of the heat was coming from,” he said.

Firefighters got the call at 12:54 a.m. and cleared the scene at 4:30 a.m.

Peebles said the resident was taken to the hospital, and Poarch Fire Department provided mutual aid.