A fire claimed the home of an Eatonton man and his 18-year-old daughter Friday, March 7, Eatonton Fire Chief Jamey Williamson said.
No one was injured.
“But it destroyed the home,” Williamson added.
The fire department received the call from Putnam County’s 911 dispatcher at 12:30 p.m. and arrived at the scene four minutes later, according to Williamson. The residence was an older model singlewide mobile home on Lot 45 at 110 Custer Ave.
“When we got there, the fire was coming out of the kitchen window and the front door,” Williamson said, noting that firefighters from both the city and county fire departments responded. “They pulled an attack line off Engine 1 and took charge of the fire right inside the door and started putting out the fire. The fire was in the living room and the kitchen, and they attacked and knocked it down real quick.”
The fire was out by 12:40 p.m., just six minutes after firefighters arrived. Williamson said tanker trucks from the Eatonton and Putnam County fire departments and the county’s ladder truck were on the scene.
“We had plenty of help and plenty of water,” he said. “That’s how we got it knocked down so fast.”
No one was inside the home at the time. However, the homeowner was outside working on his vehicle.
“We got there so quick because he was there and he saw smoke and called us right away,” he explained. “When he saw that he couldn’t do anything with the fire, he got out, which is what you’re supposed to do.”
After the fire and hot spots were extinguished, Williamson called in city and county Fire Marshal Eric Reid. The two men agreed that the fire had started around the electric stove in the kitchen.
“The guys (firefighters) who went in first, they had to actually pull the stove out to get to the fire that was in the wall behind the stove,” Williamson said. “The owner stated he’d been having issues with it coming on or not turning off.”
Williamson said the official cause of the fire is undetermined because they don’t know whether the stove was turned on or not. He added that the mobile home was not insured.
“I called the Red Cross to come in and help them,” he said. “I’m not sure how much they could help them with, but they were called in.”