Who’s burning Old Town?
Published 9:43 pm Thursday, September 1, 2011
A house on Lamar Avenue was nearly completely gutted by a fire last Friday. State and local fire investigators continue to investigate the cause of the blaze. A recent months, a total of four Old Town district homes have been destroyed by fire, two of which were set intentionally. -- Robert Hudson
By Robert Hudson
The Selma Times-Journal
With a quick look at the rubble and devastation left behind by a Friday morning fire in Old Town, one might simply see a destroyed home, but a closer look reveals another piece of Selma’s history is gone forever.
Old Town’s historic homes have survived a Civil War, Mother Nature and time itself, but with series of fires over the past few months, they’re possibly facing a new and catastrophic threat — arson.
“Of the four fires in the Old Town area of Selma that we’re aware of, we’ve determined that one of them was an electrical fire, one of them is undetermined because it was totally destroyed and we’ve determined two of them were intentionally set,” Alabama State Fire Marshal Edward Paulk said.
In each case, the houses were vacant at the time of the fire.
An active investigation by the State Fire Marshal is ongoing, including an investigation of the most recent fire Friday at 4:50 a.m. at 22 Lamar Ave.
“Upon arrival on the scene, we had the roof fallen in about 65 percent and the house well involved with flames,” Selma Fire Department Captian Dale Duke said. “As far as how the fire started, there was no power in the house.”
With a possibility the historic homes in Old Town have fallen victim to arson, local residents are expressing concern.
“It’s certainly disturbing,” Norm Trotter, president of the Old Town Association, said. “Our houses in Old Town are very close together, so we’re very concerned about any fire whether it be natural or especially intentional.”
When the houses were burned down, it’s not just a building that was destroyed; it was also a piece of Selma’s history lost.
“We’re losing part of our heritage, part of our historic district and if we lose enough of it we’ll lose our designation, which will affect our tourism,” Nancy Bennett, president of the Selma Historical Society, said. “If neighbors would look out for neighbors, perhaps we’d catch somebody who’s doing this.
“These are structures, some have more significance than others, but they are all wonderful. It’s part of our heritage.”
