Dollar General in Red Banks total loss

A Saturday afternoon fire around 3:30 p.m. totally destroyed the Dollar General Store in Red Banks, according to Rodney Bell, fire chief of the Red Banks Volunteer Fire Department.

He said the fire was too far gone and the structural integrity of the building prevented firefighters extinguishing the blaze.

“Lots of things were going off, household chemicals, so the firefighters made a defensive attack on the structure to contain the fire to one area and let it burn,” Bell said. He has served as fire chief for about three years.

Units left the scene around 9 or 10 p.m. After finishing up, he said.

Units responding to the scene were from Victoria, Holly Springs, Red Banks, Mt. Pleasant and Byhalia, Bell said.

The cause of the fire will be determined by Dollar General's insurance investigators, he said.

Employees said the fire started in the rear of the building and quickly spread through the entire structure.

“We did what we call ventilating the building, cutting open doors and hacking through the roof after the initial approach to go inside, he said.

No injuries were reported during the operation, he said.

Bell praised firefighters who were all volunteers, he said.

All fire departments did great teamwork,” he said. “I'd like to say thank you to them. You had a lot of hard workers out there. Everyone worked together as a team.”

Bell said when fire departments have paid firefighters, they are considered volunteers when they assist volunteer fire departments with an operation.

“We are all volunteers,” he said.