Between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. Wednesday, three structure fires were reported in Liberty and Long counties. No one was injured, but 10 area residents now are without homes. The blazes appear to be unrelated.

Mobile-home fire
On Tuesday evening, a fire heavily damaged a mobile home in Hinesville, displacing the man who lived in the single-wide structure.
The blaze, which broke out at Shady Oaks Mobile Home Park in the 1100 block of West Oglethorpe Highway, was reported to 911 shortly after 6 p.m. Firefighters from the Hinesville Fire Department responded within minutes and quickly brought the fire under control after forcing the front door open.
No one was home at the time, and the fire was contained to the kitchen area, according to Lt. Gene Long.  No injuries were reported.
HFD Capt. Earnest McDuffie said the fire is believed to have started when the resident left two back stove burners on for a long time. An item hanging near the stove may have been the first thing to catch fire.

Apartment fire
An early-morning fire Wednesday heavily damaged a Hinesville apartment complex and displaced four people.
The blaze broke out at the Wyngrove Apartment complex off of Grove Point Drive, not far from the Veterans Parkway entrance to Fort Stewart.
According to Capt. Kris Johanson of the Hinesville Fire Department, the fire appears to have started on a second-floor apartment’s porch. The blaze spread quickly to the structure’s ceiling, burning the vinyl and wood.
The occupant smelled smoke, went to investigate and saw flames inside the apartment.
When firefighters arrived, the unit was engulfed in flames; however, it did not take long to bring the fire under control, Johanson said. The cause of the fire is undetermined. However, the resident used the porch where the fire began as a smoking area.
Several unoccupied apartments sustained smoke and water damage. The affected occupants include a couple with an infant, a husband and wife, a single soldier and a Hinesville Police Department officer. The Red Cross is providing aid.

Long County fire
A disabled Long County woman and her son lost everything Wednesday in a house fire on Macedonia Church Road.
According to Ludowici/Long County Fire Chief Richard Truman, his department responded to a reported structure fire at around 10 a.m. When crews arrived, flames were shooting up from three sides of the home. Due to limited manpower, the department initially began a defensive attack, fighting the fire from outside, Truman said. When additional resources arrived, he sent two attack teams into the home — one to the left side of the structure and the other to the right. Truman said the fire was under control in about 20 minutes, but everything inside the home was destroyed.
Homeowner Michelle Elder said her son, Jonathon, had put some clothes in their dryer, turned it on and left. A few minutes later, Elder, who is disabled and uses a wheelchair, said she smelled what likely was burning electrical wires. She went to the laundry room and found the dryer on fire and flames shooting up the wall and covering the ceiling.
Elder wheeled herself to the door and began screaming for help her. Her nephew, Jamal Posey, who lives next door, heard her cries and ran to help. Elder said he was able to get her out of the burning house and to his home.
“We lost everything. The wheelchair I’m using now is from the church. I did pack Jonathon’s bag for camp, and I ordered his school clothes, but other than that and a dress I have, everything is gone,” Elder said.
She and her son will stay either with her mother or sister until they can make plans for future accommodations.
Truman said that although the fire was bad, no one was hurt. First responders and firefighters from the Long State Prison fire unit, the Long County Sheriff’s Office and the Long County EMS unit also assisted at the scene.