Tuesday night fire contained

By Melinda L. Lucas

A fire reported after midnight on Tuesday completely destroyed several mobile homes on property thought to be that of Johnny Novian or members of his family.

Albany Volunteer Fire Chief Travis Gardenhire said that a call came in about 12:30 a.m. from Allsup’s, apparently after someone reported seeing the fire south of the Village Apartments. When firefighters arrived, three unoccupied trailers were “fully involved,” according to Gardenhire.

Several trucks from both the city and county fire departments responded, with city equipment hooking up to a hydrant on Moran St. and also pumping out of the county’s tanker.

Moderate winds blew sparks across the highway, but despite extremely dry conditions, no other fires ignited. Because of the direction of the wind, the apartments and nearby homes weren’t seriously threatened.

“We were lucky,” said Gardenhire, who added that the progression of the fire was stopped a few feet short of an occupied camper on the property.

No cause had been determined as of press time on Wednesday morning.