Extension-Cord Power Supply Ignites Winona Fire

By Kenneth Dean in The Tyler Morning Telegraph
The shattering glass is what caught Bobby Bell’s attention. What he saw when he turned around Wednesday morning was his home in flames. Bell said he was outside working in his garden when he saw his home on County Road 349 just off Farm-to-Market Road 16 on fire.

“I ran into the house to try and find something to smother it out, but it was too hot and I had to go right back outside,” he said as he watched firefighters extinguish the blaze.

Smith County Assistant Fire Marshal Oren Hale said the fire, which Winona and Red Springs fire departments responded to, was started by an extension cord running from a utility pole to the home for electricity. Hale said using extension cords to power a home was dangerous because they are not designed to carry the amount of electricity used in a home.

Hale said he would contact the American Red Cross to assist the man, who said he had no place to live.

“Everything I have is just what I have on. I lost everything else in the fire,” Bell said.