Two house fires break out in Houston County | WDHN

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — Two separate house fires in two county seats in Houston County broke out earlier this morning, destroying both structures and displacing people inside them.

The first fire broke out shortly after 7am and gutted a caravan just off Butler Road.

“I got a call this morning that a trailer was on fire, so I had to run out and see who it was,” said neighbor Jerald Korporal. “It burned everything from the back.”

Firefighters from Taylor and Rehobeth responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.

“We arrived on scene to find a double-wide trailer with heavy fire coming out of the charter side. Engines arrived on scene and we launched an offensive attack and put out the fire,” said Rehobeth Fire Chief Nick Floyd.

But the trailer is a total loss, gutted from the inside out. Charred debris litters the ground and is carried away by the wind.

A few hours later, around 10 a.m., a second fire broke out. This time, in Madrid.

Firefighters from Cottonwood and Madrid rushed to the scene to extinguish the thick cloud of smoke, fire and ash.

While they put out the fire, the house was a total loss. For owner Nicole Payne, the loss is devastating. She has owned her grandparents’ house since 2002.

“I just want to look at him and bawl,” she says as her house burns behind her. “I’m just lost. I do not know what to say anymore. I don’t know.”

the Houston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating both fires.