Resident of home destroyed by fire boarded bus for Houston

Published 7:41 pm Tuesday, September 11, 2018

A 74-year-old Vicksburg woman listed as missing Tuesday was located safe on a bus bound for Houston Texas, Fire Chief Craig Danczyk said.

He said Sara Jackson, whose home at 359 Hugo St. was involved in a fire about 10 a.m. Tuesday, was reportedly seen boarding a bus for Houston sometime earlier Tuesday.

“Public safety in Vicksburg, Mississippi, has reached out to the appropriate people in Houston, Texas, and they are going to have boots on the ground when the bus arrives, and we are going to verify that she is on the bus,” he said.

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Danczyk confirmed Tuesday evening that Jackson was found safely on the bus by Houston law enforcement officers after it arrived in Houston.

He said family members said Jackson, who suffers from Dementia, has taken bus trips to Houston before.

Firefighters were notified of the fire about 10:08 a.m. Tuesday and arrived to find the blaze fully involved. Initial information indicated Jackson may have been trapped in the house.

“We did not find a victim at the house; we searched, our investigator and the fire marshal’s office,” he said. “We have searched all over Vicksburg, looking everywhere we could look based on the information provided to us.”

Danczyk said the house was extremely damaged in the blaze. The cause is undetermined.

He said a metal roof on the east side of the home affected the fire’s behavior.

“It tends to make the fire spread and cause more damage,” he said.

Here is video courtesy of Tom Pharr from when the fire initially broke out.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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