A Batesville firefighter and his family escaped without injury Monday when an early-morning fire broke out in their home.

Batesville Fire Inspector Brett Childs said that Allen Anderson, his wife and daughter were forced to exit their 205 Gordon Drive home through a window.

Anderson told Childs he awoke shortly before 3 a.m. when he “heard a pop or a boom,” and then heard his home’s smoke detector’s alarm.

Childs told The Panolian late Monday that an electrical problem was suspected but the cause of the blaze would be ruled undetermined.

An inspector from the State Fire Marshal’s Office was called to oversee the investigation, he said.
Firefighters managed to beat back the fire after it ate through the attic but the home sustained heavy smoke and water damage, according to Childs.

“It will be a total loss,” he said.

Anderson has been a firefighter for about a year, Childs said.