During the height of Hurricane Dennis on Sunday, Pascagoula firefighters responded to a fire at the $800,000 Beach Boulevard home of Johnny Templete.
On Monday, fire investigators assessed the damage to the structure and contents at $375,000. The fire was believed to have started in a crawl space and entered the attic.
A fire official said Monday that the entire contents of the house were exposed to smoke and it was like that when firefighters arrived.
Though the fire is still under investigation, Pascagoula fire officials said they don't believe it was started by lightning. On Sunday, Fire Chief Robert O'Sullivan said no foul play was suspected. O'Sullivan said the preliminary investigation indicates some type of electrical problem caused the fire.
The waterfront home sits on top of a hill on the western end of Beach Boulevard, the only home south of the road that runs along the Pascagoula seawall.
Templete told firefighters that he'd seen the lights flicker during the hurricane several times before he left to go to a nearby friend's house. He was eating lunch at the friend's house when the fire started.
The alarm came in to the Pascagoula Fire Department at 1:59 p.m. and the fire trucks arrived at 2:02 p.m., said Fire Inspector Todd McClung. The wind and rain of the storm did affect firefighting capabilities, he said, and one firefighter was injured with a burn to his hand.
Distributed by the Associated Press
