Two fires damage homes

By Staff
Jason Cannon, Franklin County Times
Two house fires between late Sunday night and early Monday morning left two local families without homes.
The first fire, at 820 N Gaines in Russellville, was phoned in at approximately 7:30 p.m. Sunday evening.
Russellville Fire Marshall Bobby Malone said the cause of the blaze was ruled an accident and pinned on a cigarette.
"When (the firefighters) arrived, there were flames coming from the front window and the master bedroom was fully involved," Malone said. "The bedroom was a total loss and there was smoke damage throughout."
Malone said the blaze originated in the bedroom, where a cigarette had not been fully extinguished.
The second blaze was called in at 3:30 a.m. Monday morning, this time it was a double wide located at 1123 Sibley Spur Road.
Malone said the home was a total loss and no determination has been made as to the cause of the fire.
"There's a lot of fire damage, so we haven't been able to pin point it just yet," he said.
Due to the severity of the fire, and that it is located outside the city limits, the state fire marshal's office has been called in to aid in the investigation.
No one was home at the time of either of the fires.