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  • Cloyd Whitmus, assistant chief with the Checotah Fire Department, points out the damage to a downtown law office destroyed Sunday by a fire of undetermined origin.

    dg fire 4 col color.tif

  • Cloyd Whitmus, assistant chief with the Checotah Fire Department, points out the damage to a downtown law office destroyed Sunday by a fire of undetermined origin.

    dg fire 4 col color.tif

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September 5, 2011

Origins of Checotah blaze that burned law office are undetermined

By D.E. Smoot Phoenix Staff Writer

CHECOTAH — The origins of a blaze that destroyed a downtown law office Sunday has yet to be determined, but officials said nothing appears suspicious.

Police Chief Andy Blizzard said the fire spread rapidly  through the structure, which served as the town’s hospital when it was built.

“It was an old building,” Blizzard said. “What we were trying to do was keep it from spreading to the other buildings.”

Blizzard said firefighters from several area agencies worked several hours Sunday to tamp the flames down. Two firefighters, including Blizzard, were treated for heat exhaustion and a third was treated for a minor cut.

Cloyd Whitmus, assistant chief with the Checotah Fire Department, said flames were leaping through the roof when he arrived.

“It looks like the fire started high in the back there,” Whitmus said. “It was already through the back (of the building), but we were able to save all those buildings.”

The fire, Whitmus said, was reported at about 3:12 p.m. Sunday. Firefighters were still dousing hot spots after 10 p.m. Whitmus said he didn’t leave until 12:30 a.m. Monday.

The building consumed by Sunday’s blaze, Whitmus said, is owned by Carman Rainbolt, a local lawyer.

Even though the cause of the blaze is undetermined, Whitmus said any further investigation will be up to insurance company representatives.

Blizzard said there was some discussion about bringing in an investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s Office, but officials saw no need for that.

“We saw no signs that would lead us to believe there was anything going on,” Blizzard said.

Patty Webster praised firefighters who worked feverishly into the night Sunday and volunteers who gathered to staff a relief center.

“The response was really fast,” Webster said. “The last time we had a fire like this, we lost a whole block.”

Reach D.E. Smoot at (918) 684-2901 or dsmoot@muskogeephoenix.com.

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