Man displaced by Christmas Eve fire

Dec. 27--MOULTRIE, Ga. -- A Christmas Eve fire ravaged a rented home as its renter slept inside. Fortunately, he was able to wake up in time to escape. No one was hurt in the fire.

Terrence Long, now displaced by the fire, woke up early Dec. 24 to the heavy sight and smell of smoke in his home located at 277 Norman Estates, near 267 Hidden Acres where the report said the incident was.

His prerogative was escape, said the landlord, Andy Kistler.

"[The house] was already full of smoke so he had to crawl out and rolled out the back door," Kistler said.

According to the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office's report, Long had noticed flames emerging out of his Bluetooth speaker in an outer room. Even with that knowledge, the exact cause of the fire is undetermined.

"He said that's the only thing he could think of that was plugged in," Kistler said. "That's where it looks like the heat is but [the fire] did a job on [the house]."

The incident report marked the time as 8:30 a.m., but Kistler said the fire could've started as early as 7:30 a.m. He didn't arrive on the scene until closer to 10 a.m. as he was at his job prior to the fire's start.

The fire finally died around 10 a.m., the report read. It took seven fire trucks to handle it -- a cooperative effort between the Norman Park, Culbertson, Berlin, Northside and Southside Fire Departments.

Kistler marked the house as a total loss. The house had been so badly burned that the insurance adjuster found there to be no need in journeying there to assess the damage.

"When the adjuster called, she said 'Can you see through the house?' I said 'Yep.' [then] she said 'Well, I probably won't have to come look,'" he regaled. "She's in Albany."

Whereas Kistler lost a house he's owned since 1996 and Long lost a world of possessions including his phone and wallet, Kistler said nothing too tragic occurred.

"There was no loss of life here and that's number one," he said.

Kistler said the Red Cross had been contacted since Long is now displaced, but a conversation made between the two late Dec. 24, revealed no one had called the temporary phone Long was provided.

It was said Long had left with family, but Kistler is unsure where he is now.

"I feel for him, but there's nothing I can do now," he said.

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