01/05/2010

A house fire on Trowbridge Street Tuesday was the first of three fire calls in the area through this morning.

  Franklin Fire Chief Peggy Davis said department personnel responded to the call at a vacant house at 216 Trowbridge at 12:30 p.m. With assistance from the Baldwin, Chitimacha and Centerville departments the blaze was brought under control in about two hours.

  Davis said the house that was being used for storage was gutted and the cause of the fire is being investigated as suspicious since there were no utilities in service.

  The department was called out again this morning at 4:54 a.m. for a residential fire apparently caused by misuse of a gas bathroom heater at 214 Mechanic St., Davis said.

  Damage was confined to the bathroom, Davis said, and the cause was ruled as accidental.

  Also this morning, area firefighters were at the scene of a third residential fire on Jolivette Street in Baldwin. All area departments were called out to assist the Baldwin Fire Department at about 10 a.m. Details were unavailable at press time.

Courtesy of The Banner-Tribune