Stories from Sunday, July 26, 2009

Huge balls of fire leapt to the sky Saturday night as firefighters from six area fire departments battled an inferno at a Rector pallet company, housed in the former Rector Lumber Company building at Main and West Fifth Streets. Rector firemen were called to the scene at about 6:30 p.m. and many quickly put on masks and oxygen tanks, with the magnitude of the blaze and heavy black smoke creating an extremely difficult situation. The call for assistance was issued immediately, and the Piggott, Marmaduke, Kennett, Greenway and Northeast Greene County fire departments responded quickly.