Trimjoist Fire Update

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- An early morning fire leaves a Columbus construction company looking to rebuild.

Around three this morning, District 3 volunteer firefighters responded to an explosion at the Trimjoist Corporation on Highway 182.

Residents called in the fire after being woken up by loud explosions.

The building quickly became fully engulfed.

County Fire Coordinator Neil Austin believes large tires exploded and that’s what nearby residents heard.

The flames started in the back of the building and spread to the front.

It took about an hour and a half for the flames to be contained, but Austin says about 25 percent of the facility was destroyed.

District 1 and 2, along with Columbus Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene.

“It’s volunteers, of course, they’re coming out 3 o’clock in the morning before they go to work, so the manpower needed to put a fire out like this is was a lot, so we utilized different districts to get the manpower and equipment here until they all worked together,” Neal Austin.

The investigation has been handed off to the State Fire Marshal.