TUTWILER — State and local investigators on Tuesday were seeking clues to the origins of an early-morning fire that caused extensive damage to the local Dollar General store — a fire that as yet unconfirmed reports say may be the result of arson.
If so, it would mark the second case of arson at a Dollar General store in Tallahatchie County within the past six-and-a-half months.
“The only thing I can tell you right now is it is under investigation,” Tallahatchie County Fire Coordinator Linnie Maples said Tuesday afternoon, then reiterated when contacted Thursday afternoon.
Maples said a county fire investigator and an investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s Office were on the scene Tuesday to inspect the charred remains of the building’s interior.
“The store is going to be closed indefinitely, for sure,” Maples noted, citing heavy smoke and water damage.
The “contents are gone and the building is basically gutted,” he stated.
Maples said the fire “appeared to have started at about the middle of the building,” as did a Sept. 30, 2022, fire at the Dollar General store in nearby Webb, situated about 6½ miles south of the Tutwiler location. The Webb store fire was determined to have been intentionally set.
“It’s a definite strange situation,” Maples noted, when asked about that similarity.
The Webb Dollar General fire differed in that it caught up in early afternoon while the store was occupied with workers and several customers, none of whom were hurt.
No arrest has been made in connection with the arson of the Webb store, which ultimately led to that building being razed. A new building is just weeks into construction at the Webb site.
Progress on reconstruction of the Dollar General store in Webb is seen Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (Photo by Clay McFerrin)
Maples said the fire at the Tutwiler store, located at 220 Highway 49, was reported at about 4:30 Tuesday morning.
Tutwiler firefighters were first to arrive on the scene, but units from Sumner, Webb Westside Tallahatchie and Sharkey-Hampton Lake fire departments also were eventually dispatched to that location, he noted.
The inferno burned long and hot, the coordinator explained, saying firefighters battled the fire for about eight hours before major operations wound down just after 12:30 p.m. Even then, firemen were “mopping up a few hot spots.”
The coordinator said a combination of water from Tutwiler municipal hydrants and water mixed with a special firefighting foam were used to battle the fire.
Maples said Tutwiler pressed two pumper trucks into action while the other fire departments employed one pumper each at the scene.
The Tutwiler Dollar General retail outlet, known as store No. 19578 in official company circles, opened in August 2018. A ribbon-cutting was held Sept. 29, 2018.
The store, with its more than 7,200 square feet of sales floor space, was celebrated as a growth milestone for the Goodlettsville, Tennessee, discount chain. The Tutwiler location was said to be Dollar General’s 500th store in Mississippi.
After being contacted Tuesday by email about the Tutwiler store, Dollar General Corporate Relations replied Wednesday morning, "We're currently assessing the damage and expect to have more information at the conclusion of that assessment."
The company has operated stores at three locations in Tallahatchie County, including the only one still open, on Main Street in Charleston.
DG Corporate Relations noted that each Dollar General store employs 6-10 workers, "depending on the individual needs of the store."
