On Wednesday, a Decatur County Sheriff’s deputy received minor burns on his hand while extinguishing a grease fire.

Sheriff’s Deputies Nick Godwin and Sgt. Jason Williams were at a home on Clay Pit Road looking for a juvenile missing out of Grady County, according to incident reports. The deputies went to leave after speaking with a female resident of the home, when they noticed flames through a kitchen window.

Godwin and the woman rushed inside the home’s kitchen where a pan filled with cooking oil was ablaze. The woman grabbed the pan and appeared to panic, Godwin stated, at which time he took the pan and began walking it to the door. Godwin was able to get outside of the home, maneuvering around some dogs, before he dropped the extremely hot pan and oil.

Williams took Godwin to Memorial Hospital and Manor where he received medical treatment for minor burns on his hand.

Sheriff Wiley Griffin said the burns had caused blistering but were not serious. He said Godwin will not have to miss any shifts at the Sheriff’s Office from the injury.

Trash fire at Pepi Food Services

Bainbridge Public Safety firefighters responded to a controlled burn that spread to some nearby stacks of cardboard boxes and was threatening to ignite a utility pole on Thursday.

A controlled burn permit was issued to take place at Pepi Food Services Inc., located at 115 Louise St.

Fire Chief Dennis Mock said the fire was left unattended and spread to a number of bundles of cardboard boxes located next to a power utility pole.

Sgt. Marvin Knight was the first officer on the scene and advised E-911 that the fire had spread to a television cable connected to the utility pole.

Mock said firefighters had the blaze under control in 10 to 15 minutes, but spent upwards of an hour ensuring that the fire was completely extinguished. He said a front-end loader was brought in from the City Shop at his request to scatter the bundles of boxes so the still smoldering areas could be put out.

Georgia Power was called to the scene to check the utility pole and wires connected to it—both were not seriously damaged.