The Webster Progress-Times

A house fire in Mathiston took the life of a man who re-entered the dwelling after first getting out safely.

Authorities identified the victim as William Stacey Drewery Rushing, 33. The fire at his residence on Highway 82 just east of Highway 15 was reported about 12:55 a.m. Oct. 27. Mathiston Fire Chief Roger Miller said flames were coming out both windows on the front of the house when firefighters arrived. Mathiston and Maben fire departments responded to extinguish the blaze.

Miller said a smoke alarm had alerted Rushing and his mother, Ann Rushing, to the fire and both got out safely. However, he said Rushing went back in, supposedly to get a cell phone to call for help, and did not make it back out.

Donnie Yates, part-time Mathiston police officer, tried to retrieve him from the fire, said Miller, and the officer had to be admitted to NMMC-Eupora for smoke inhalation and elevated blood pressure. He was released Friday.

Lee Gilliland, assistant Mathiston fire chief, found Rushing's body just inside the door, according to Miller. Webster County Coroner Steve Wells said Rushing was apparently overcome by heat and toxic gases; an autopsy was to be performed as a standard procedure.

Miller said an electrical heater in the living room was determined to be the source of the fire.

Rushing was an equipment operator and a Maben volunteer fireman. Besides his mother, he is survived by a son, William Cobrady Drewery. Funeral services were Saturday at Maben First Baptist Church with burial in New Hope Cemetery.

The "Rushing Family Care Fund" has been established at AmSouth Bank and donations may be made at the Mathiston, Eupora or Starkville branches.

OTHER FIRES

An early-morning fire this week destroyed another house that had already received major damage during Hurricane Katrina.

The fire at the Earl Abbott residence on Bland Road was reported at 2:45 a.m. Monday. Clarkson-Fame Fire Chief Tony Pritchard said the house was falling in when the first firefighter arrived on the scene. The Cumberland Fire Department assisted in keeping the fire from spreading.

The house had been uninhabitable since a huge pecan tree limb fell through the roof in late August during the hurricane. Abbott and his wife have been staying in a camper since then. The camper had been located in their yard but they later moved it to a relative's property, according to the fire chief.

Pritchard said the Abbotts had noticed the lights dimming when they did go into the house for brief periods.

Also, the Eupora Fire Department responded to a house fire about 5:45 a.m. Wednesday on the southeast corner of Adams and Gould avenues.