Fire destroys Mississippi event center after party

MARSHALL COUNTY, Miss. — Investigators are looking into a fire that destroyed an event center in Marshall County, Mississippi, over the weekend.

The metal frame of the Cherry Place event venue in Waterford is the only thing left standing after a blaze that started hours after a heavily attended party Saturday night.

The cause of the fire has been undetermined.

“This had been rented for a party ’cause of Ole Miss, Ole Miss Homecoming, and the party ended. Everybody had left,” said Conway Robinson, co-founder of Cherry Place.

Robinson said she’s not sure how many people attended, though social media posts put the number at 2,000.

“There were a lot of people here. There were people inside and people outside,” she said.

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Robinson said the fire was spotted early Sunday morning by two people collecting tin cans who called 911. Firefighters from three area departments responded.

Holly Springs Fire Chief Rodney Crane said high winds spread the fire and his department had to shuttle water tankers back and forth to the scene.

“When our guys arrived they found heavy flames showing from one end of the building to the back end. It went north to south,” Crane said.

There were no reported injuries and the Marshall County arson investigator is handling the case.

We were told the venue was in operation for ten to twelve years. For now, Robinson is unsure what the future holds for Cherry Place.

“We’re going to clean the mess up and I’m sure there’s people wanting to know if they can have used tin and stuff,” she said.

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