Fire damages Home outside Mt. Airy

Habersham County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Rob Moore reports that units from Habersham County Emergency Services and a deputy from the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office responded Wednesday morning to a house fire on Tommy Irvin Parkway outside Mt. Airy. The fire was dispatched to Habersham County Emergency Services, Clarkesville Fire Department, and the fire team from Lee Arrendale State Prison Fire Department at 11:19am Wednesday, Jan. 22. Units arrived to find about a 2,000-square-foot house with active fire in the basement. A section of Tommy Irvin Parkway was closed due to the amount of fire apparatus on scene during the firefighting effort. There were no injuries and most of the fire damage was limited to the basement, with only minor extension to an upstairs bathroom. “We were able to locate the source of the fire pretty quickly and get a knockdown on it,” said Habersham County Emergency Services Battalion Chief Dwight McNally at the scene. “No injuries at the scene and everyone was out of the house at the time we arrived on scene, so we were fortunate for that.” The cause of the fire is under investigation, but officials say it started in the home’s basement. The home was insured. It was 28 degrees while firefighters fought the fire. Habersham County Emergency Services units responding included Engine 9, Engine 14, Tanker 13, Med 1, Med 9, Battalion 1, Captain 1, Chiefs, and PIO. Clarkesville Fire Department responded with Engine 3 and its chief, as did the fire team from Lee Arrendale State Prison Fire Department in Alto. Crews from Habersham Electric Membership Corp. responded to secure power to the home.