By By Janet Little Cooper
An Atmore woman escaped injury Friday night after a fire broke out in a back room attached to her mobile home on 104 Ethridge Drive.
Firefighters with the Atmore Fire and Rescue Department responded to the call around 6:30 p.m. to find the room fully engulfed.
"I had just gotten home from work," occupant Sharon Agee said. "I had turned on a radio in the shed and then heard a noise. I thought someone was knocking on the door."
Agee said that she looked out her kitchen window to see who was at her door and saw smoke instead.
"I looked out the kitchen window and it was fogging up and I saw smoke," Agee said. "I grabbed my cell phone and opened the back door to see what was going on and saw that I had a chance to get out of the house.
Upon stepping outside Agee saw the flames coming from the room. She then ran to her neighbor's house and asked them to call for help.
According to fire officials on the scene they were able to contain the fire to the backside of the mobile home with the inside sustaining some smoke and water damage.
Firefighters received reports on the scene of a suspicious nature regarding the cause of the fire prompting an investigation by the state fire marshal.
As of press time Tuesday afternoon, the fire marshal had not arrived in Atmore to search the scene of the blaze.
"The fire is still under investigation," Atmore Fire and Rescue Chief Gerry McGhee said. "We do have reason to believe that it was of a suspicious nature and will have to wait for the state fire marshal to come in and make the final determination."
Firefighters from the Nokomis volunteer fire department assisted Atmore in the call.