3 WAREHOUSES, 30,000 BALES OF COTTON DESTROYED BY FIRE

An early morning fire destroyed 30,000 bales of cotton and three warehouses at the Caruthersville Cotton Warehouse Monday.

The Caruthersville Fire Department responded to a call from an alarm company at 12:43 a.m. and saw flames shooting through the roof of a warehouse, said Charlie Jones, the Caruthersville fire chief.

About 50 firefighters from Caruthersville, Hayti, Kennett, Portageville, Steele, Wardell and Bragg City sprayed water on it but were unable to contain it, Jones said. A fire wall separating the destroyed warehouses from seven others kept the fire from spreading.

The ruined warehouses continued to steam after dark fell Monday, Jones said.

One of the firefighters on the scene, Rick Floyd, said, "Cotton is packed so tight, it's hard to put out. It keeps flaring up."

Jones had not determined the cause of the fire Monday, but said the Missouri state fire marshal would be on the scene today to investigate. At 8:30 Monday evening, Jones was at the scene with Britt Coleman, the owner of the warehouse who had just returned from out of town. Jones would not estimate a dollar value of the losses until Coleman could study the scene.