HABERSHAM COUNTY, Ga. — A Habersham County homeowner was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta on Saturday after suffering serious burns in a fast-moving house fire near Batesville.
A passing bicyclist spotted the flames and called Habersham County Emergency Dispatch around 3:30 p.m. on March 21. Someone else stopped to help the homeowner from his front porch as he made his way out of the burning residence.
“It was an all-wood cabin,” said Habersham County Emergency Services Battalion Chief Dwight McNally, “so, it went up quick.”
Firefighters said the man was home alone when the fire broke out. When crews arrived, they found him outside with burns covering 15% of his upper body.
“He suffered burns to his face, chest, and arms,” McNally said.
Reinforcements called to stop fire’s spread
Due to the home’s location in a heavily wooded area, firefighters requested assistance from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and state forestry crews, who cut fire breaks to keep the flames from spreading deeper into the woods. Rabun County fire crews also assisted.
McNally said the fire spread into a nearby field and threatened additional structures.
“It was going up a hill, and we wanted to stop it from getting to the barn and any back property back there,” he said. “Thank goodness there was a dirt road back there that was able to stop that part. So, basically, we focused on the outside protections and exposures first because this [the house] was fully involved.”
The home was a total loss.
Working to determine the cause
The fire shut down a section of Georgia Highway 197 North between Henry Pitman Road and Bobby Brooks Road for several hours as crews worked to extinguish the flames and contain hot spots.
McNally said the fire started inside the house, “we just don’t know where,” he said when interviewed at the scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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