Man arrested after Mississippi furniture plant suffers third fire in 13 months

A suspect is in custody following the third fire in just over a year at a Mississippi furniture plant. 

The American Furniture plant in Ecru caught fire Thursday afternoon. The fire occurred in Plant 2, Pontotoc County Sheriff Leo Mask told WTVA-TV. 

Mask isn’t yet releasing a name or any charges in relation to Thursday’s blaze at American Furniture in Ecru.

The Pontotoc Progress reported fires were in two warehouses on the property. Employees managed to extinguish one, the paper reported, and drug furniture out of the warehouse. However, another fire was discovered in a separate warehouse and was lost to the blaze. 

News outlets reported  that employees saw the suspect, followed and confronted him, leading to his arrest. 

Thursday night, Fire Coordinator Adam Patton told the station no injuries had been reported. Dozens of firefighters responded.

Company officials estimate more than 5,000 pieces of finished furniture were destroyed. Gusty winds and a lack of fire hydrants frustrated efforts to control the fire.

The fire was the third for American Furniture in 13 months. The previous two fires both occurred in 2018. One of those was ruled arson, the Pontotoc Progress reported. The cause of the second fire is unknown. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.