Apalachicola fights fire amidst hurricane

A Thursday evening fire in Apalachicola, ignited around the time the entire county was bracing for the impact of Hurricane Helene, managed to be brought under control by volunteer firefighters.

According to George Watkins, fire chief of the Apalachicola Volunteer Fire Department, the call came in about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 26, that smoke had been spotted at the home of Chet and Rose Rowland, at 717 Long Road.

Five firefighters, and two of the department’s trucks, responded to the scene, where there were signs of a fire at a double-wide mobile home.

“When we first got there, there was smoldering and smoking inside but it hadn’t broken through yet,” Watkins said.

Because the electricity was still on, the firefighters stayed clear but pointed their deluge guns and fire water at a festering blaze.

“Because of the electricity, we couldn’t make access to it and had to fight it from a distance,” he said.

Fed by a back draft that fed air into the pre-ignition phase of the fire, “it just all of sudden blew into flames. It needed air and once it got it, it ignited from one end to another,” Watkins said. “When it blew it really blew up and within about 10 seconds the whole thing was ignited.”

Firing the cannons had done the job to knock the fire down, and once Duke Energy arrived to shut off power, the firefighters “had it cooled down a lot more and were able to mop it up,” said the chief.

Sheriff A.J. Smith said the Rowlands, who had evacuated, spotted on their cameras what they thought was smoke and notified county officials. 

Watkins said at one point “a bunch of gun bullets went off and we had to duck behind the fire truck. That was kind of exciting.”

Chet Rowland told officials that the exploding bullets were from ammunition that he had stored in the home.

Watkins said the firefighting effort was assisted by Pastor Scotty Lolley, from the nearby Living Waters Assembly of God, and several neighbors who served as Good Samaritans.

“He stuck with us to the end,” said the chief. “We would like to thank everybody who helped, and I thank the fire department for turning out, what few we had. We were able to manage with what we had to work with.”

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Charity Fund has begun an effort to assist the Rowlands, Jackie Smith and three young children with rebuilding their lives. Donations can be made online to https://www.franklinsheriff.com/charity-fund/