House brought down by fire in Small Town Maycomb, AL
On a snowy night, in the seldom cold Maycomb, Alabama, the house of Miss Maudie Atkinson, a resident of the main residential street in the small town, was engulfed and destroyed by flames. Not accustomed to the cold weather, the majority of Maycomb citizens had roaring fires in their fireplaces to keep warm. Miss Maudie was no exception, and though the specific cause of the fire is uncertain, it is a suspected chimney fire, as the upkeep of chimneys and the flues is not a large priority for the inhabitants of this regularly hot and dry town.
Several neighbours assembled outside to assist her in salvaging as much furniture from the burning house as possible. The fire, however quickly spread upstairs, nearly trapping Mr. Avery, a neighbour who was attempting to push a mattress from the window. Fortunately, Mr. Avery managed to escape from the house, unscathed.
The house soon collapsed. The fire, which had began spreading to other houses, was, after some struggle due to no nearby hydrants, extinguished by the Abbottsville fire committee, leaving only a smoking black hole in Miss Maudie's yard.
Miss Maudie, though having lost her home, along with majority of her possessions, claims to be rather unfazed. "Always wanted a smaller house. Gives me more room for my azaleas!" She said, a trace of a grin across her face. "Why, I hated that old cow barn." She commented, "Thought of settin' fire to it a hundred times myself, except they'd lock me up."
The residents of Maycomb, despite this event, are still in good spirits for the upcoming Christmas season.