Fire damages Itawamba Justice Court, multiple departments respond
Jul. 2—FULTON — The soon-to-be-replaced Itawamba County Justice Court building got an earlier send-off than expected on Sunday.
The justice court caught fire Sunday afternoon, causing extensive damage to the building. Fulton fire chief Shane Smith told The Itawamba County Times that eyewitnesses blame the fire on a Sunday afternoon lightning strike. By 7 p.m. Sunday, the fire had been raging for at least three hours. Smith said the blaze would likely take another two to three hours to be brought fully under control.
Multiple fire departments from the area responded to the blaze, including Fulton, Tilden, Tremont and Dorsey.
At the time of this writing, the fire had been contained to the justice court building, with the nearby S&W Pharmacy and a historic residence owned by local entrepreneur Sam Farris spared from the flames. No one was in the building at the time of the blaze, and no injuries were reported.
As of late Sunday afternoon, the extent of damage to the building had yet to be determined.
Construction of a new justice court building at the Itawamba County Justice Complex, located just off Access Road, is underway and expected to be completed in September.
The current justice court building was the former site of the Itawamba County Sheriff's Department offices prior to that department's own move to the justice complex. Upon completion of the new justice court, the current justice court building was slated for demolition following the court's move to the new facility. It is not known at this time what county records remained in the building or how many records had already been relocated in anticipation of the court's move.
