Houston County Fire fights growing blaze

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — A fire erupting from a Houston County home began early in the morning Saturday, taking Houston County Fire’s four responding crews more than three hours to fully extinguish.

The home was left with major damage, as portions of its roof and ceiling burned. The Journal spoke with Fire Chief Chris Stoner for more details.

Stoner’s department received the call about the fire at around 7:15 a.m. as people drove down Highway 247, advising they saw a large column of smoke and fire behind the trees, leaving Houston County Fire without an exact location.

When the first crews arrived at 105A Piney Grove Road at 7:23 a.m., the fire had already begun burning through the roof of the right side of the home.

“They did a good job, they got the fire contained,” Stoner said. “The home did sustain pretty heavy damage, with fire already through the roof when they got there, but they were able to contain it to where it was.”

Upon arrival, firefighters began their work by completing an initial and secondary sweep of the home for anyone inside, and began containing and extinguishing the flames by bringing a hose inside the home, while another doused the home from the outside, to fight it from both sides.

Perry Fire also brought in additional vehicles to provide water and manpower.

The fire was contained within 30 minutes of Houston County Fire’s arrival. They left the scene, the fire totally extinguished, at 10:45 a.m.

No residents were home at the time of the blaze, so no one was present to be injured. There was a dog on the property, however, they were corralled by first responders and kept a safe distance away from the blaze to prevent any injury.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Stoner reported that the blaze began somewhere on the right side of the home, either within the home itself or in a small side building near it.

HHJ News