Fire destroys home in Currie community of Jones County

HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) -  This is a news release from Jones County Fire Department 

As temperatures dropped to near freezing Saturday night, November 1, a home in the Currie community of Jones County was destroyed by fire, possibly caused from a faulty wood-burning heating system.

At 10:15 p.m., fire units from Glade, Powers, and M&M Volunteer Fire Departments were dispatched to 115 Meyers Road to the home owned by Lafayette Nelson, Sr.   Upon arrival, firefighters found the home fully involved in flames and began an aggressive exterior attack.  The firefighters were able to keep the heat and flames off of one nearby vehicle, but another vehicle had already been heavily damaged by the fire, prior to their arrival.

Nelson and his wife, Patricia, were out of town at the time of the fire, but their two adult children, Lafayette Nelson, Jr. and Lakeshia Cooley, were at home.  Lafayette, Jr. said when he went to check on the wood-burning heater, the entire porch was on fire.  He ran to his sister's room, woke her up, and they both ran out of the house, and called 911.

Firefighters remained on scene for over three hours performing fire suppression and overhaul operations.

The home was deemed a total loss, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation by Jones County Sheriff's Department Fire Investigator Sgt. Scott Gable.

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