ATHENS, Ala. -- Fire officials believe a bottle rocket left over from the Fourth of July holiday may have been the cause of a fire that destroyed an empty home.
Gary Harris was cleaning up around the one-story, frame home, which had been unoccupied since his mother died about five years ago. It was uninsured.
He said he wasn't mad, but only hoped someone could supply a dumpster or a backhoe to help in the clean-up. The property was owned by the late Mae Slaughter's five children. They had used it to store clothing and other possessions.
“Those who witnessed the fire, reported that it originated near the roof line," said Athens Fire Chief Tony Kirk about the weekend blaze. "We found multiple spent bottle rockets around the house and one witness said quite a few rockets were popping in the area that evening.”
Harris did find a commemorative Auburn football — scorched but still salvageable — inside the home.
“That’s my team,” Harris said, carefully grasping with gloved hands the shellacked, wooden football of the Tigers.
---
Details for this story were provided by The New Courier in Athens, Ala.
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
