Multiple agencies responded to a structure fire in Crawford Friday Aug. 1. No one was injured in the fire, but the two story home was total loss according to Josh Robinson, Oglethorpe County EMS Director. (Photo/Josh Robinson)
Firefighters and first responders were unusually busy last week, with one house fire and eight car accidents in the county.
No fatalities were recorded in any of the incidents, but three car accidents led to injuries.
House fire
One Crawford family lost their house, two dogs and a litter of puppies to a structure fire on Aug. 1.
Firefighters responded to the incident on Russell Lane around noon Friday, and were not able to save the home, Oglethorpe County EMS director Josh Robinson said.
Robinson said the residents inside the house managed to escape through a two-story window without injury, but the blaze led to a total loss.
Robinson arrived at the scene to heavy fire conditions, and said several fire departments and volunteers assisted on the call.
“By the time the first fire engine arrived, the fire conditions had increased, and the rear of the structure had collapsed at that point,” Robinson said. “We ended up doing a defensive fire attack. Nobody went inside; we just tried to contain it, get it out as best we could.”
Oglethorpe County 911 director Angela Jackson said the call started at approximately 11:50 a.m. and ended around 3:45 p.m.
The heat index was nearly 100 degrees, and Robinson said it was a major point of difficulty for crews working to extinguish the fire. Two firefighters were treated for mild heat exhaustion at the scene. No other injuries were recorded.
Arnoldsville, Crawford, Devil’s Pond and Salem Fire Departments, and volunteers from throughout the county, helped to extinguish the fire.
Robinson said officials were still unsure as of Monday what caused the fire.
Auto accidents
On an average week, Jackson said one to two auto accidents might occur in Oglethorpe County.
There were eight last week, three of which led to injuries.
- On July 27, at approximately 10:30 a.m., an accident on Centerville Road led to one injury.
- On Aug. 1, a driver hit a tree on Smithonia Road at approximately 7:50 p.m. Two were injured.
- On Aug. 3, a driver went into a ditch on Washington Road at approximately 10 a.m. One person was injured.
Alex Perri is a master’s student in journalism at the University of Georgia. She previously worked at the Transylvania Times in Brevard, North Carolina.