A Foxworth blaze Monday afternoon claimed a former business owned by the late Chuckie Lee.
The Foxworth Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a fully involved structure fire at 1:56 p.m. Monday, and it took the help of Columbia, South Marion and Southwest Marion fire departments over several hours to battle the flames. The structure, located at 68 Mississippi 35 Service Road, was previously Foxworth Recycling until Lee’s death in October 2015.
Marion County Fire Investigator Aaron Greer said the fire is suspicious and under investigation.
Foxworth Fire Chief Mickey Graham was first on the scene, and he said the structure was 80 percent involved upon arrival. The main structure was connected to a pair of wooden shacks with tin roofing, both of which crumbled as the flames grew, and there were several other structures in danger. Graham said the main structure is a total loss.
“It was a nightmare,” Graham said. “We stayed out there until after 5 o’clock, and then we got called back out a second time and spent another two hours on the scene.”
Foxworth responded with 14 firefighters, Columbia with a truck and three personnel, Southwest Marion with a truck and five men and South Marion with a truck and two people.
