On Wednesday January 3, 2024, a fire claimed the home of a Eutaw resident, Lottie Gibson. Eutaw Fire Chief Bennie Abrams says the fire started at 3:30 a.m. on Oliver Avenue. The fire resulted in the complete loss of the main home, a guest home and a car. No one was injured at the time of the fire.

Abrams says that since this was a major fully engulfed fire, he is glad there were no injuries.

“Before we ever got to the scene, we could see this great big orange glow in the sky and a big smoke column, so we knew this was a well-involved house fire and more than half the house was consumed by the fire,” Abrams said.

Eutaw Mayor Latasha Johnson says the fire is under investigation and possibly could have started as a result of an electric heater.

Officials are urging caution while using space heaters after a residence was engulfed in flames Wednesday.

“You have to be very careful with space heaters and you have to be careful with kerosene heaters and electrical heaters,” Johnson said. “Don’t put objects close to those heaters and try to keep it in areas where things are not touching it.”

City leaders say if residents need a place to go to stay warm, the city has warming stations located at the Robert H. Young Community Center and the New Generation Church.