A fire in a classroom at Northeast Jones Middle School caused extensive fire, heat and smoke damage to one classroom and sent heavy smoke into eighteen other classrooms and hallways on Wednesday morning. Volunteer fire units from Powers, M&M and Glade along with Jones County Fire Coordinator Dan McKenna were dispatched to the fire at 6:10 a.m. and responded immediately having just returned to their stations from a storage barn fire in the Glade Community. Powers Engine 1 was the first fire truck on scene and reported heavy smoke visible in the west end of the school with school staff advising firefighters of the exact location of the fire. Powers firefighters Cory Cotton and Joey Davis entered the building in full turnout gear and self-contained breathing apparatus and were quickly able to suppress the flames. A second alarm dispatched Sandersville Fire & Rescue and Northeast Jones Fire District Chief John Bounds to the scene to bring additional positive pressure fans to supplement those on the scene to push the smoke out of the building. Powers Asst. Chief Brent Broadway served as Incident Commander during the fire department response to the blaze.
Jones County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Sgt. Scott Sims, who serves as the County Fire Investigator, also responded to the scene and conducted a fire investigation. Sgt. Sims determined the fire to be an accidental electrical fire which originated at a bookshelf which had two 110 volt electrically powered devices stored there. The fire melted plastic items throughout the classroom and extended into the ceiling area above the ceiling tiles. Adjoining classrooms were checked for fire extension; however, the fire was not able to advance significantly into other areas. Jones County School District Superintendent Steve Thrash along with other district employees and NEJ staff were on the scene working to relocate arriving students to other unaffected areas of the school to begin taking semester tests. Three fire engines, two tankers and two rescue trucks responded to the scene along with Dixie Electric Power Association.
As firefighters were conducting overhaul operations, Glade Volunteer Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a report of a man down in a field on Currie Road. A unit from EMServ Ambulance Service responded to the scene along with Glade Medical First Responders and firefighters to rescue the downed man. No information was available on his condition or cause of his injury. Within minutes of leaving the fire at Northeast Jones Middle School, fire units from Powers and M&M responded to an electrical fire at the home of Sam Billbrew at #40 Billbrew Road in the Powers Community. An electrical short at the meter base threatened to create a fire, but quick action by the homeowner prevented fire extension. Mississippi Power Association responded to the scene to disconnect power to the home until electrical repair work could be conducted by the owner. During the same timeframe, volunteer fire units from South Jones and Southwest Jones responded to a strong smell of gas in Church Street area of Moselle. Upon arrival, firefighters conducted a check of the area but did not find any leaking gas in the area. Just after lunch, Powers firefighters also responded to an out of control brush fire threatening a residence in the 300 block of Eastview Drive. The fire was quickly extinguished and no structures were reported to be damaged in the blaze.
