A fire that started in a truck parked in a driveway on Dogwood Heights Tuesday spread to a pontoon boat and then the house after an oxygen and acetylene tank used for a cutting torch near the truck exploded, said Culkin Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jerry Briggs.

Culkin and Fisher Ferry volunteer fire departments responded around 1:05 p.m., and had the fire out by about 3 p.m., Briggs said.

Homeowner Valerie McKay, a teacher at Dana Road Elementary School, said she was on her way to her residence at 3 Dogwood Heights from the school when she saw fire trucks. McKay’s husband, Mark, was in Jackson when the blaze broke out. However, her 12-year-old son, Kanton, and her 13-year-old nephew were in the house when the fire started.

“They said they heard a loud noise, and when they came out to see what it was they saw the GMC (truck) engulfed,” McKay said. “I was hysterical when I got here, but the boys made it out of the house safe and that’s all that matters.”

Smoke from the blaze on the road off Mississippi 27 could be seen for miles.

Briggs said there appeared to be minimal damage to the house, however the truck was a complete loss and the pontoon boat had extensive damage.

“There was much less damage to the home than I thought there would be,” said Briggs.

“It was basically just the garage attic that had damage, even the contents of the garage were OK for the most part.”

McKay said her home is insured against fire, but the truck and the pontoon carry only liability coverage. The cause of the fire was still under investigation, said Briggs.

The Culkin Volunteer Fire Department was joined by the Bovina department earlier Tuesday morning to extinguish a separate house fire. The departments responded to 45 Whippoorwill Drive around 12:05 a.m., where about 20 percent of a doublewide trailer was engulfed in flames, Briggs said.

“The homeowner was gone, and a neighbor called it in,” he said. “We kept the loss to about 30 percent of the trailer, and had everything put out by about 3 to 3:30.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

CRIME & ACCIDENTFrom staff reports

Auto theft, burglaries reported in city

Two auto burglaries, one attempted auto burglary and an auto theft were reported at a Vicksburg casino Monday and Tuesday, said Suzan Ebeling, Vicksburg Police criminal intelligence analyst.

On Monday, between 3:29 and 5:06 p.m.:

A Sirius satellite radio and a Garmin global positioning system were reported missing from a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado HD. The items had a combined value of $825.

Entry into a 2008 Ford F-150 was attempted but not gained. Significant damage was done to a door lock, Ebeling said.

A 2008 gray Ford F-150 with Louisiana tag 72070 was reported stolen.

On Tuesday, an auto burglary was reported at 12:28 p.m. Stolen from a 2006 Ford F-150 were two watches with a combined valued of $300.

Police believe the thefts are connected to three other thefts Monday in the parking lots of Rainbow, Horizon and DiamondJack’s casinos, Ebeling said.

Also reported stolen Tuesday were a Yamaha coronet valued at $800 at 8:33 a.m. from Warren Central Junior High, and copper wire valued at $1,000 at 4:57 p.m. from a CellularSouth tower on Iowa Boulevard.

City woman injured in two-car wreck

A Vicksburg woman was treated and released from River Region Medical Center following a two-car wreck Tuesday at 4:57 p.m. in the 1400 block of Marcus Street.

Raven Bryant, 18, 575 Joyce Lane, was the driver of one vehicle. She was taken to River Region following the accident. The driver of the second vehicle was not injured.

No details of the wreck were available.