Woman, dog Toby safe after house fire
Audrey Pinkard was popping corn in her kitchen just before 8:30 p.m. Sunday, preparing to catch up on her shows, when she heard a pop in her living room.
“At first I thought it was the microwave, but I turned around and a power strip was smoking,” she said.
She grabbed her Australian shepherd Toby, got out of the house at 560 Second St. in Shannon and called 911.
The ensuing fire caused extensive damage to the living room, but RomeFloyd firefighters were able to keep it from spreading to other houses in the neighborhood.
“We had it knocked down within five minutes,” Battalion Chief Brad Bell said.
Standing in the street, watching a dozen or more firefighters work in her smoldering home, Pinkard appeared calm — but said she wasn’t.
“I just don’t know how much I’ve lost,” she said.
Neighbors offered assistance, but she planned to go home with her son Dante Pinkard, who had rushed up from Rome as soon as he heard of the fire.
Bell said there was smoke damage throughout the house. The fire got into the attic and parts of the kitchen and a bedroom also were burned. An investigator will determine the official cause, but Bell said it’s likely electrical.
“There was a lamp, a computer and several other things plugged into the strip,” he said.
Firefighters remained on the scene for about an hour, sifting through the debris inside and putting out hot spots.