Lawrence courthouse fire started in circuit clerk’s office

July 04--MOULTON -- The fire that started in a circuit clerk's office on the second floor of the Lawrence County Courthouse caused significant water damage and forced county officials to shut down the building until Monday.

"It appears electrical," Commissioner Bobby Burch said in an emergency meeting Tuesday morning with commissioners and elected officials who have offices in the courthouse.

The fire was contained to the circuit clerk's office where it originated, Moulton Fire Chief Patrick Jolly said. It appeared that an electrical plug shorted out, caught a nearby box of papers on fire and the fire spread, he said.

The call came in about 11:30 Monday night, and firefighters were on the scene until about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, the fire chief said.

"The fire suppression system activated and knocked the fire down and, when we arrived, we were able to complete extinguishing the fire," Jolly said.

Lawrence County Administrator Heather Dyar said ceiling tiles were down at several places in the courthouse and that the majority of the damage was caused by water flowing from the upper-level floors. She said insurance adjustors were on the scene Tuesday assessing the damage.

Dyar said the sprinkler system in the courthouse "worked exactly like it's designed to work," or the courthouse would have had more damage.

She and Burch said the sprinklers have glass capsules that burst when they reach a certain temperature and are generally not triggered by smoke.

Most of the elected officials, including the district attorney, district judge, probate judge, revenue commissioner and circuit judge, said closing the courthouse until Monday wouldn't be an issue.

"The court schedule is scaled back this time of year," District Attorney Errek Jett said.

Circuit Clerk Sandra Ligon said her office handles absentee voting and she needed to be available for the July 17 primary runoff. County officials allowed her to move absentee voting to commission headquarters on Alabama 157.

Ligon said she will be available to accept absentee ballots from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. until the courthouse reopens. She said the last day to apply for an absentee ballot is July 12, and any questions about absentee voting should be directed to 256-974-9303.

In response to questions from commissioners about patrons who are facing deadlines to pay fines or purchase tags, Circuit Judge Mark Craig said he could exercise his authority and enter an order extending deadlines.

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"This is not my first time doing this," he said, pointing out that the same order was in place when a tornado downed power lines and killed 14 in Lawrence County on April 27, 2011.

District and juvenile court Judge Angela Terry said she hadn't seen anything that looks terrible inside the courthouse, but added that water was everywhere.

"For what happened (in the courthouse), I'm in pretty good shape," she said about her office.

Terry did express concern about if she needed to schedule an emergency hearing relating to a juvenile and needed to have paperwork filed in the circuit clerk's office.

County officials flirted with the possibility of reopening the courthouse Friday, but Commissioner Norman Pool pushed against the notion. He said the problems with electrical equipment likely will not appear until after the water is removed.

Pool also didn't want the public there while workers were cleaning up.

Commission Chairman Mose Jones said he will assess the situation Sunday and will call another emergency meeting if the courthouse needs to be closed beyond Monday.

-- deangelo@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2469. Twitter @DD_Deangelo.

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