EMA Director: Fires, Rescue Mark Busy Saturday
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WATER VALLEY – Yalobusha County EMA Director Stewart Spence said first responders had a busy day on Saturday, Sept. 13, answering three major calls — a house fire, a grass fire, and a boat rescue near Enid Lake.
The activity began shortly after midnight with a fire that destroyed the home of Water Valley Police Chief Jason Mangrum on County Road 25. The blaze was in the Sylva Rena Fire Department district, which requested mutual aid from Water Valley, Pine Valley and Oakland, primarily for additional water. Crews remained on the scene for about four hours.
That afternoon, firefighters were dispatched to County Road 56 for a grass fire that started as a small burn of food plots. When the wind shifted, the flames spread quickly before forestry units and local departments could bring it under control.
The third call came that night, when 911 dispatchers received reports of men hollering for help near Lovejoy on Enid Lake. Two older Panola County men had launched a small boat from Bynum Boat Landing with a motor that may have been too large for the craft. The boat capsized near Lovejoy, leaving the men about 40 yards from shore.
Spence said the pair had been trying the boat out, but one already had broken ribs and the other refused to leave him behind. “The lifejackets were the only thing that saved them,” Spence said.
The men had been in the water for some time before rescuers arrived around 9 p.m. They were transported to Chickasaw Boat Ramp with the boat in tow, where they were met by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
“It was a long day for our first responders,” Deputy EMA Director Jarrod Logan added.
