MT. AIRY, Ga. — A fire that started in a carport early Wednesday destroyed four vehicles and damaged a Mt. Airy home where a Baldwin police officer, his wife, and their young daughter live.
Firefighters were dispatched to the residence at 340 Thornbriar Way at about 2:51 a.m. after reports of a residential structure fire. While crews were en route, dispatchers advised that a detached garage or carport was fully involved and that flames were spreading to the nearby home.
When firefighters arrived, they found the carport area engulfed in flames, with fire climbing along one side of the two-story home and threatening to spread into the attic.
Amy Gardner, a 20-year educator in Gwinnett County, said she and her family were asleep when the fire began.
“We were in bed, and I heard a loud boom, and I felt it, and I woke up,” Gardner told Now Georgia. “The way the bed was positioned, I could see a light outside. It’s very dark back there, and I thought, ‘What is that light?’ Thank God I had enough sense to get up and look.”
Gardner said the fire started in the carport area, which was used to park several vehicles.
“That area, which is obviously gone, was a three-car carport,” she said. “The fire obviously started in the carport. We had three cars there, and my husband is a City of Baldwin police officer, and his patrol car was there. So four cars burned to the ground.”
Her husband, Jonathan Gardner, is an officer with the Baldwin Police Department. The couple’s 7-year-old daughter was also inside the home at the time of the fire. All three escaped safely, and no injuries were reported.
Firefighters entered the home and worked to stop the fire from spreading further. Officials said flames had reached the attic above the second floor and were at risk of spreading across the length of the home, but crews were able to gain access and halt the fire’s progress before more extensive damage occurred.
The carport collapsed during the fire. All four vehicles inside were destroyed.
The family has two dogs and three cats. Four of the animals have been accounted for. One cat remains missing, but Gardner said she believes the cat ran and hid during the chaos.
“We’re missing one of the cats, but we think he’s just scared,” Gardner said. “He’s an indoor-outdoor cat, so I’m really not that worried about him. I posted on our neighborhood Facebook page. His name is Silver, and he’s a gray striped cat. Everybody’s already out there looking for him.”
She said she believes the cat will return once conditions settle.
“I think when we go back to the house, if we call his name and he hears us, I think he’s just hiding,” Gardner said. “We need to let the dust settle, and I think he’ll be OK.”
During the fire, firefighters reported hearing popping sounds and several louder explosive noises coming from the carport area. Officials believe those sounds were likely caused by items such as ammunition, gasoline containers, propane tanks, or vehicle components reacting to intense heat — conditions that are commonly encountered in fires involving vehicles and storage areas.
Firefighters from multiple agencies responded to the scene, including Habersham County crews, LACI, and the Cornelia Fire Department. Despite icy conditions that complicated access and water supply, officials said crews worked together to bring the fire under control and prevent further damage.
After the flames were extinguished, firefighters worked to salvage personal belongings from the home before turning the scene over to investigators. Gardner said the family has received an outpouring of support.
“We do have a place to stay,” she said. “So many people have reached out to offer that I don’t know which one we’re going to take. Right now, we just had to get the animals secure and safe, and then we’re going to go back up.”
She said Baldwin Police Chief Chris Jones took her and her daughter to a hotel while Jonathan Gardner remained at the home to speak with fire officials.
The Georgia State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire. Now Habersham has reached out to the Fire Marshal’s Office for additional details regarding the investigation.
