Fire erupts in Brewton law office

Billy Earl Cook sat in a chair outside his Brewton law office Monday morning with a legal pad in his lap and a pen in his hand waiting on clients he had scheduled to meet. Cook was outside because a fire at his 123 St. Joseph Ave., office Sunday afternoon had destroyed most of what he had inside.

Brewton Fire Chief Jeff Salter said firemen were first dispatched to Cook's office, which is located on the boardwalk in downtown Brewton, at 3:02 p.m. Sunday. Firemen remained on the scene until 6:45 p.m.

Salter said someone saw smoke pouring out of the top of the building and alerted the fire department.

"Luckily we were able to get on scene really quick," Salter said. "Due to all the connecting buildings we called for backup from McCall, Appleton and East Brewton. We also had Flomaton and Century on standby.

He said about 30 firemen helped battle the blaze. He said it appears the fire may have started behind a wall in a bathroom and then quickly spread to the attic.

"We had to tear off a portion of the roof to make sure the fire didn't extend to adjoining buildings," he said.

He said Century was put on standby for its ladder truck in the event the blaze entered other buildings.

While the fire damage was contained to Cook's office, there was smoke damage in the building directly south.

"We're lucky this happened on a Sunday afternoon and not at 2 or 3 a.m.," Salter said. "If it had of started spreading to the other buildings it would have been a lot worse."

He said despite the heat, there were no injuries reported on firemen who entered the burning building.

He said the exact cause of the fire was undetermined but said an investigator with the fire marshal's office was scheduled to be on scene Wednesday to determine the cause.

Cook showed up Sunday afternoon but could only watch.

"I'd gone to Walmart and just gotten home when someone drove up and said 'your place is burning down'," Cook said. "When I got here there were fire trucks and firemen everywhere. They did a really good job and worked hard. A lot of them got hot and exhausted, but I can't say enough good things about the firemen."

While waiting on a 10 a.m. appointment Monday, Cook said his next step will be to find somewhere to temporarily open an office.

"I've got to get in there and see if I can salvage anything," he said. "I've kept every file I ever had for the past 42 years and they were all inside the building."

Any clients or new clients needing to contact Cook can call him at home at 251-867-2840.