MULTIPLE POPLAR BLUFF STREETS BLOCKED OFF DUE TO DOWNTOWN FIREDowntown Poplar Bluff was brought to a standstill Wednesday afternoon after a fire broke out at a building on the corner of Vine and South Broadway.
Poplar Bluff Fire Chief Ralph Stucker tells us more.
RALPH STUCKER:
Wednesday morning about approximately 10:15 we received a call in the 300 block of Vine Street, smoke in the area. When one of the crews arrived the building next to McNeeley’s, Rosie's, indicated that she seen some sparks and everything coming out of her breaker box. Personnel checked that location also checked McNeeleys. They found smoke in both buildings, they was able to go upstairs they end up going up to the second floor and pulling hose lines up there and end up pulling down the ceiling on the Second Story and found the tremendous amount of fire between the ceiling and the roof. They hit it with attack lines the fire was advanced to the point our attack line was not doing any good so we pull our personnel back out and set up for a defensive attack. Along with our 105 foot tower truck the Butler County brought their 105 foot tower truck and our aerial truck and we set up on three corners and tried to isolate and keep it in that one building. It took us approximately 8 hours to control the fire. Once we had to go to a defensive attack, we pull our personnel back up and use our monitor guns and our aerial devices. Our goal was to try to let it come through the roof and be able to hit it with a lot of water. The way everything laid approximately five roofs was on this. It did not come through the roof like we expected to. In a typical downtown building usually we will have a wall come down, on this right here we didn't have a Wall come down until we start using the master strings to start knocking some of it down to get in there to it. We have four firefighters injured today, heat-related injuries and dehydration. As far as we know everybody will make a full recovery, there's a couple of them they are going to keep an eye on for a couple days. I started with the Department in 95 the two big downtown fires we had was in 92 about six months apart across from the post office. Since then we've had a couple fires in the downtown area. The personnel have been able to get to them real quick and contain them. This one right here was extended beyond the initial attack. We're believing approximately five families was displaced, the Red Cross was on scene early on and let us know that they was taking care of all the people that was displaced. The PD was able to go through and get everybody’s name that was in the apartments and then got that information to the Red Cross so that took that burden off of us trying to deal with. We’ve said it more than once, the natural disasters we've had and everything over the years this community when something happens this community comes together. We had people coming up buying food and bring it down here bringing water, Gatorade. We had all the city departments on hand assisting. PD, street department, motor pool, municipal utilities. Everybody just pitched in and did a great job. Butler County Fire came in and assisted us and everything. Butler County EMS was here for the majority of the day to give several guys IVs in the ambulance to give them some fluids back in them. It's amazing how this community comes together.
Stucker also tells us that the State Fire Marshal has been notified to investigate.
WOMAN FACING TERROIST THREAT CHARGE FOLLOWING IN CONNECTION TO ALLEGED HIT LIST ON FACEBOOK A woman is due to appear in court later this month in connection to an alleged “Hit List” on Facebook.
According to Missouri Case Net, Sherr Harden, of Kennett, was arrested earlier this week on a charge of making a terrorist threat. The hit list reportedly contained over 10 people.
Harden’s court date has been scheduled for next Tuesday.
TEAR GAS USED TO END STANDOFF SITUATION WEDNESDAY IN POPLAR BLUFF A man has been taken into custody after a situation Wednesday in Butler County where he barricaded himself inside a residence.
Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs says that the incident began inside the Poplar Bluff city limits.
MARK DOBBS:
On Wednesday there was an incident where an individual had shot into a house in the city limits of Poplar Bluff. That person was tracked to location off of Turtle Lane. A search warrant was obtained for his house to try to gather additional evidence as well as to capture the suspect and bring him in for questioning. Upon trying to serve that search warrant, the suspect wouldn't answer the door, barricaded himself in with 2 females. Eventually negotiators with the Sheriff’s Department were able to at least get one of these females out of the house. The girlfriend of the suspect stayed in the house. Later on that night after all other means were exhausted, OC chemicals were dispersed inside the residence. A short time after, the suspect and his girlfriend came out of the house and gave themselves up without any kind of an incident. We’d like to thank all the other agencies, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Poplar Bluff city police, and the Sikeston Department of Public Safety and their Special Response Team for helping us to turn what could have been a very bad situation into a peaceful ending. The male suspect has been identified as 34 year old Benjamin Deters, of Gulf Port, Mississippi. Sheriff Dobbs says Deters is facing a charge of assault 1st as well as numerous warrants through Butler County.
Deters girlfriend, 22 year old Maranda Weaver, of Poplar Bluff, was also arrested on numerous Butler County warrants.
NORTHEAST ARKANSAS WOMAN DEAD FOLLOWING ROLLOVER WRECK IN RIPLEY COUNTY Authorities in Ripley County say a Corning woman has died in connection to a rollover wreck early Wednesday morning.
Officials with the Missouri State Highway Patrol tell us that 38 year old Jamie Hawkins was driving on Highway N in Ripley County when her vehicle ran off the side of the road and overturned.
Hawkins, who was reportedly not wearing a safety device, was ejected from the vehicle. She was later pronounced dead at the scene by Ripley County Coroner Mike Jackson.
Officials say the wreck occurred at around 5 am Wednesday, four miles west of Naylor.
THREE KILLED IN NORTHEAST ARKANSAS WRECK Three Blytheville residents have died, and another is injured, following a two vehicle wreck Wednesday in Northeast Arkansas.
According to the Arkansas State Police, the wreck occurred Wednesday morning when two vehicles collided on US Highway 61 in Mississippi County.
Three people in one of the vehicles were killed in the wreck. They have been identified as 76 year old Robert Davis, 64 year old Della Stringer, and 30 year old Trestan Johnson, all of Blytheville.
The driver of the second vehicle was injured and taken to an area hospital.
