VIDEO: Lack of Home Inspections Increases Fire Hazard Potential

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Things could have been much worse for a family in Oktibbeha County who almost lost their home to a fire.

Firemen got the fire under control quickly, but it’s possible that other homes in the area could be in danger of a similar blaze.

Many of the homes in the Yeates subdivision, outside of Starkville, were built to a different code, or no code at all, compared to today’s regulations.

Inspectors and Firemen are encouraging people who own older homes to receive the proper electrical upgrades to save them from potential losing everything.

“I woke up at 3:30 in the morning, and I woke up because I guess my light was on and it was off when I went to bed,” said homeowner, Brian Stacey.

After getting up and looking around, Stacey sensed something was wrong.

“…and then I noticed that my switch was off, so I flipped it on and flipped it back off but my light was still staying on. At that time, I kind of smelt just a faint smell of smoke,” said Stacey.

He looked in his attic through the access hatch, but wasn’t seeing any sign of a fire.

“I could still smell a little bit of smoke; I felt a little bit of heat,” said Stacey. “So I got a ladder so I can actually climb up there and look in there. When I climbed up there I did see a small fire.”

Firemen were able to put out the small fire, but not before it slowly ate away at one of the support beams, and the living room ceiling had caved in.

Inspectors reported the cause was electrical.

“We’ve had considerable problems with wiring of late,” said county Fire Coordinator, Kirk Rosenhaun.

“During the winter months, you know, things like to stay warm. Rodents like to stay warm, and they’ll move into your attic or your wall space,” said CEO of Sorrell Home Inspections, Bobby Sorrell. “While they’re there, they like to eat on your wiring. After a period of time, they’ll eat it down to where it’s actually touching together.”

Many homes in this neighborhood were built around the same time as the Stacey’s residence, meaning they could have the same problem.

“Codes in this area, most of these houses pre-exist them,” described Sorrell.

“We’ve had several major structure fires in this area in the last 20 years. You can see a couple of the, for lack of a better term, slabs or vacant lots,” explained Rosenhaun.

Sorrell says the best time to get your home inspected is now.

“Go ahead and have them evaluated by a licensed professional, so they can look at deteriortating wire and they can look inside your furnace and your heating areas and evaluate your fireplace,” said Sorrell.

…which is exactly what Stacey will be doing in the near future.

“I knew it was an older house, but definitely after this I’m going to have all of my electrical probably looked at and replaced,” said Stacey.

Categories: Local News

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