Officials investigating fire at Vicksburg Car Store

Published 7:13 pm Monday, February 4, 2019

Vicksburg Fire Department and Mississippi Fire Marshal’s investigators are continuing their investigation of a Saturday night fire that damaged the Vicksburg Car Store, 2800 Clay St.

The fire was one of three calls handled by the fire department Saturday.

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“We believe this was not an accident,” Fire Chief Craig Danczyk said. “We began our investigation as soon as the fire was out.”

The fire was reported about 10:45 p.m. Saturday, and firefighters had the blaze under control about 11:24 p.m. Danczyk said the fire began in a storage area above the tool room in the garage area in the rear of the building.

The probe into the fire began sometime after midnight, he said, and investigators returned to the scene noon Sunday to take photographs and collect samples.

About the same time as the Car Store fire, firefighters received a call about a house fire at 808 Meadows St. The cause of the fire was an electric stove being used as a heat source for the home that malfunctioned. The fire heavily damaged the kitchen. The occupant of the home managed to escape. There were no injuries.

Earlier in the day, firefighters were called to a home at 1404 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., when a light in the building began arcing from an electrical short, but there was no fire.

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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