Plumes of black smoke were seen billowing out of the dining room. This thick smoke filled the air and shrouded the surroundings. Tongues of flames were seen licking other rooms and soon the whole house was burning.
When asked how her house caught fire, Miss Maudie Atkinson, a nature-lover, replies," I don't know. Probably the flue in the kitchen. I kept a fire in there last night for my potted plants".
The inefficient Maycomb fire truck was pushed from town by a group of men and it inaugurated to put out the fire. There was another incident which happened before the burning of the whole house. Mr. Avery, one of the Maycomb residents, was upstairs in the house, throwing a mattress and other furniture out of the window onto the street. Suddenly, the stairs caught fire and he began climbing out of the window. Haplessly, he was stuck there which dumbfounded many.
Luckily, he managed to slide down a pillar when he slipped while he was crossing the upstairs porch. Despite his fall, he still managed to survive. By this time, the monstrous fire was already spreading to other houses and some men tried their best to put off the spreading fire while the fire truck from Abbotsville arrived for help.
Another fire truck from Clark's Ferry arrived to put off the fire at Miss Stephanie Crawford's house. They had to use hand-extinguishers as there was no hydrant for another hose.
Very soon later, Miss Maudie's house collapsed with a gush of fire.
It was already morning when everyone began to leave.
When she was in a better mood, Miss Maudie Atkinson said, 'Only thing I worried about last night was all the danger and commotion it caused. This whole neighbourhood could have gotten up. Mr Avery'll be in bed for a week - he's right stove up. He's too old to do things like that and I told him so.'
Brave-hearted and perseverant Miss Maudie has more care and concern to the society rather than herself.
