Sunday Fire at Jacob’s Ladder

Firefighting is a hot job even on a cold day.  But imagine battling a roaring inferno when the outside temperature is in the triple digits.  That’s what Kosciusko firefighters faced Sunday after a store selling Christian books, music and gifts on North Madison Street caught fire….

“It is the Jacob’s Ladder building”

That’s Fire Chief Duane Burdine.

“We had a lot of firemen have to have IVs and go down”

The chief says no one was seriously injured but the heat inside the burning building plus the hot temperatures outside made it difficult to fight the fire…

“Especially with something like a metal building, it has a heavy fire load, it holds a lot of heat in.  So you’re talking 600-700 degrees inside.   And then it’s hot outside, wearing the gear anyway. So instead of staying in for 20-30 minutes, now you can’t stay in but 15-20 minutes and you have to swap out and rotate.”

Attala County firefighters were called in for assistance.  Burdine says the store was closed when the fire broke out but some people were in the building….

“They reported they saw smoke upstairs.  Of course, when we got here they were all out”

The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined.

In a Facebook message, the store said it will be closed “until further notice”.