coldfront
03-13-2007, 12:53 AM
Investigators: fire that destroyed 4 houses was arson
Associated Press
LOGANVILLE, Ga. - A brush fire that destroyed four homes and damaged six others in a retirement community was deliberately set, authorities said Monday.
The fire started Sunday afternoon in a 10-acre kudzu patch and quickly spread to homes at Village Place, an 83-home subdivision. It took about 40 firefighters to bring the blaze under control. One firefighter and a resident were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
State officials set a preliminary loss estimate at $600,000.
Arson investigators believe the blaze may have started with a burglary at a nearby welding company, said Glenn Allen, a spokesman for the state Insurance and Fire Safety Commission.
"Some items were stolen from FESCO," Allen said. "We found some items in the wooded area. We believe that some materials taken from FESCO were used to start the fire."
Officials and witnesses said the fire was fed by dormant Bermuda grass and pine straw.
On Monday, city crews, residents and relatives were back at this subdivision. Residents must be 58 and older to move in. That age minimum was recently reduced from 62.
"Everybody is hurting," said Andrew Miller, a former Salvation Army employee and Village Place resident. "We've got to thank God there was no loss of life."
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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
Associated Press
LOGANVILLE, Ga. - A brush fire that destroyed four homes and damaged six others in a retirement community was deliberately set, authorities said Monday.
The fire started Sunday afternoon in a 10-acre kudzu patch and quickly spread to homes at Village Place, an 83-home subdivision. It took about 40 firefighters to bring the blaze under control. One firefighter and a resident were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
State officials set a preliminary loss estimate at $600,000.
Arson investigators believe the blaze may have started with a burglary at a nearby welding company, said Glenn Allen, a spokesman for the state Insurance and Fire Safety Commission.
"Some items were stolen from FESCO," Allen said. "We found some items in the wooded area. We believe that some materials taken from FESCO were used to start the fire."
Officials and witnesses said the fire was fed by dormant Bermuda grass and pine straw.
On Monday, city crews, residents and relatives were back at this subdivision. Residents must be 58 and older to move in. That age minimum was recently reduced from 62.
"Everybody is hurting," said Andrew Miller, a former Salvation Army employee and Village Place resident. "We've got to thank God there was no loss of life."
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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com