August 28,
2009
A fire that destroyed a
572 Millport Road mobile home in the Joppa-Hulaco area, kept
firefighters from four departments busy Friday afternoon,
and caused anxiety and fear for several family members of
Len Gallop.
Marilyn
Gallop, who had gone to Arab on an errand, returned to find
the double wide mobile home engulfed in flames and her
husband Len missing. Marilyn said he was smoking a
cigarette on the back porch when she left about an hour
earlier. She said that Len, who is restricted from
driving due to severe seizures, spent most of his time in
the home. She knew of no plans for him to leave and
the family vehicles were in the yard. She said that he
occasionally went for walks along the road.
With the fear
that Len Gallop might be in the home, firefighters began an
aggressive attack on the fire to try and bring it under
control as quickly as possible so that a search of the
remaining building could be made. Just as the fire was
almost completely extinguished, Len Gallop arrived in a car
driven by a friend. Family members and fire officials
were relieved to find that he was unharmed.
The fire was
reported to Marshall County 911 around 1:45 pm and was
already fully involved before any fire department could
arrive on scene. In addition to Arab Fire & Rescue,
engine companies from Tri-County, Ruth, and Joppa Volunteer
Fire Departments responded to the fire. The Arab
engine was used as the primary pumper during the fire, with
additional water being supplied by the other engine
companies. Water was relayed from a hydrant located
about 1 mile away. The cause of the fire is under
investigation.
Additional
organizations responding to the fire were Arab Police, Arab
Electric Co-Op and the American Red Cross Disaster unit
