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Controlled burn spreads, destroys unoccupied house

Firefighters from Atmore and Poarch remained at 12:45 p.m. Friday (April14) at the scene of a fire that destroyed an unoccupied house at 65 Martin Luther King Drive.

Atmore police have one end of the busy street blocked off, while an Atmore Ambulance Service crew is parked across the other end. Traffic is being diverted around both ends of the fire.

According to preliminary reports, several individuals were dismantling the house, burning its various components, when a wind gust carried burning embers onto the main body of the structure, where it quickly spread.

Tar-paper shingles and wooden siding caused the flames to become hot enough to melt much of the siding of 63 MLK, which sets just a few feet from the now smoking structure next door and is occupied by at least one person.

Motorists and curiosity-seekers are asked to avoid the area while firefighters complete their tasks.