DOTHAN: 08:16 AM Dothan 911 dispathced Dothan Fire to 126 S. Alice to a commercial structure whre light smoke was visible.
On arrival of the first fire engine they reported gray smoke visible from th eeaves of the building, no flames. The call was upgraded to a structure fire which created a multi Dothan Fire Engine response. In addition to Dothan Fire Engines responded Deputy Fire Chief David Hasty and Deputy Fire Chief Pete Webb responded.
Reports of a gray smoke haze inside the business and in the office. Deputy Fire Chief pete Webb reports fire walls between the adjoining businesses and attempting to make contact with owners and make enrty into the adjoining business. At this time no source of the smoke has been identified.
Multiple Dothan Fire Engines on the scene. A Dothan Fire Prevention Officer is on the scene. Pilcher Ambulance is on the scene and Dothan Police is on the scene.
UPDATED @ 08:53 AM
Dothan Fire Inrerrior Fireman have found the source of the smke They have attempted to extinguish the insulation that was smoldering with a water can but unable to do so. They are going to be forced to make some holes to make access and are about to do so.
UPDATED AT 9 A.M.:
The first was called to be under control at 9 a.m.
There were multiple suites at the residence, but 911 was only able to notify some keyholders because of a lack of accurate records on who resides in each suite.
TIP: Make sure 911 has your updated contact information.
LOVETOWN – HOUSTON COUNTY: 7:45 PM Houston County 911 dispatched multiple volunteer fire departments to 2986 Fowler Road to a structure fire. Reports to Houston County 911 chiney on fire.
On arrival of the first Lovetown Volunteer Fireman he reported a two story residential structure, smoke and flames visible, a working structure fire was announced.
This location is between Halstead Store Road and County Road 33.
Lovetown Volunteer Fire, Cottonwood Volunteer Fire, Hodgesville Volunteer Fire, Cottonwood Rescue, Houston County Sheriff Deputies are on the scene.
There are water lines across the road and Fowler Road is closed. The utility company responsible for this address has been dispatched.
UPDATED @ 8:13 PM
Madrid Volunteer Fire has arrived on the scene. Kinsey Command – Jason Reneau who serves as President of the Houston County Volunteer Fire Chief Association, has arrived on the scene.
Wiregrass Electric Co-Op is enroute and the fireman are requesting them ASAP.
UPDATED @ 8:44 PM
Kinsey Command brought two volunteer fireman with him from Kinsey. Rehobeth Fire – Rescue also responded. A great turnout, and very cold, to fight this fire.
NO HOUSTON COUNTY COMMISSIONER WAS ON THE SCENE. They are under their electric blankets at a salary of $ 33,000.00 a year plus cost of living raises and $ 3,000.00 a year auto allowance plus 10 years invested in state retirement. The Volunteer Fire and EMS, well N-O-T-H-I-N-G B-U-T D-E-D-C-A-T-E-D S-E-R-V-I-C-E TO OTHERS. Service above self.
WICKSBURG: Today the building on Highway 84 West of Dothan, west of Highway 123 intersection in Wicksburg is being demolished.
The business known as Teaser’s, an adult etnertaiment business, strip bar is being torn down and debris burned in a controlled burn.
On August 9, 2012 a 33 year man by the name of Ryan Clark Peterson went into Teaser’s where he shot a killed three people. A fourth person was wounded.
After a 17 day trial before the Honorable Brad Mendhein in Houston County Circuit Court, a jury of 12 convicted Peterson and recomended the death penalty. Peterson is on death row at this time.
After a couple of years following the murder’s Teaser’s closed. It was attempted to open as a food business but the Houston County Commission attempted to block the opening.
Houston County passed a law years ago that a strip club could not be modified ( remodeled ), ownership transferred. The business had to remain the same as it was when the law was signed into existence.
NEW ORLEANS: Once having ties to Columbia Alabama, parents buried at Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery just west of Columbia, Sonny Smart passed away in New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. Not from the New Year’s Eve attack but after complications from hip surgery.
Sonny Smart is the father of Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart. At the time of his death he was surrounded by his wife Sharon and three children, Karl, Kirby and Kendall.
Sonny Smart is reported to have been in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame. Reports are he fell walking outside his hotel on New Year’s Eve day and fractured his hip.
Sonny Smart is a native of Columbia Alabama ( Houston County ), He was a high school head coach reported to have posted a record of 90-78-1. Sonny Smart coached in Bainbridge Georgia High School from 1988 – 1994 and Rabun County High from 1995 – 2003. Reports are Coach Smart coached at Alabama’s Holtville High School from 1977 – 1981.
Again, Sonny Smart’s death was not related to the attack on Bourbon Street at all. No arrangements have been announced.
The FBI is reporting the man who drove into a crowd in the French Quarter in New Orleans acted alone in an act of terrorism.
They said they found video of 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar from Texas placing explosive devices. He posted videos publicly declaring his support for ISIS before the attack. Authorities are still searching for an exact motive.
It’s currently unclear why Bourbon Street in particular was targeted in the attack.
The Sugar Bowl is set to continue today at 3 p.m.
ORIGINAL STORY:
At least 15 people are dead (including the driver) and at least 35 are injured after a pickup truck plowed through a crowd in New Orleans’s French Quarter early New Year’s Day.
The subject rammed into a crowd of people just after 3 a.m. on the first day of the year, and upon exiting he fired at law enforcement. He was killed in a police shootout at the scene.
The subject was identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas and Army veteran, according to the FBI. He was driving a rented Ford pickup truck and was in possession of an Islamist state group (ISIS) flag.
He also had more weapons and a potential IED bomb wired for remote detonation in the vehicle, and more potential bombs were found scattered around the French Quarter.
The mayor of New Orleans called the killing a “terrorist attack,” and the FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism.
Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent” to create carnage and to “run over as many people as he could.”
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry issued a state of emergency, but officials have repeatedly assured residents and visitors should still feel safe in New Orleans as authorities hunt down more information and any possible accomplices.
The barrier system intended to prevent vehicular attacks was being repaired at the time, so Jabbar had to drive around a police vehicle stationed to protect the crowd.
The Sugar Bowl playoff game between Georgia and Notre Dame in New Orleans was also postponed to Thursday.
The FBI has said they are conducting investigations related to the New Orleans attack in Houston, Texas.
Law enforcement is also reviewing a series of recordings the attacker made as he drove from Texas to Louisiana.
The attacker talks about the divorce he is going through and expresses interest in killing his family. He also talks about joining ISIS, referencing several dreams he had, according to officials.
Jabbar was an HR/IT specialist for the U.S. Army. He also briefly served in the Navy. He was deployed to Afghanistan with the Army from February 2009 to January 2010.
DALEVILLE: Daleville 911 and Ozark – Dale County 911 dispatched a structure fire about 5:30 AM. The structure fire was a mobile home.
Responding the fire, Daleville Department of Public Safety Fire – EMS and Police, Clayhatchee Volunteer Fire Department, Level Plains Fire Department, and Dale County Sheriff Department.
The structure was well-involved, and there was a fatality in the fire. Dale County Coroner John Cawley has identified the fire death victim as 62 year old David Berry of Daleville.
The body will be sent to Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for a post mortem examination by the medical examiner. The 33rd Judicial Circuit District Attorney, Kirke Adams, was notified. Daleville Director of Public Safety Director/Police Chief John Crawford had the Alabama State Fire Marshal notified, which is procedure on all fire related deaths. Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum was in contact with the Dale County Sheriff Deputies on the scene.
