LAVONIA, Ga. — A Lavonia woman has been arrested on an arson charge following an early-morning house fire Sunday, authorities said.
Firefighters and police were dispatched around 1:20 a.m. Feb. 8 to a residence at 5155 Vickery St., where officers arrived minutes later and found the home fully involved, according to the Lavonia Police Department. Both occupants had exited the house and were located at a neighboring residence.
One of the occupants was identified as Christie Dutton, 51, of Lavonia. Franklin County EMS transported both occupants to a local hospital for treatment related to smoke inhalation. Heat from the fire also damaged fiber-optic cables along the roadway, police said.
Lavonia Fire Department Chief Adam Dawkins said there had been a prior fire call at the same residence on Jan. 29 that was extinguished before first responders arrived. Because of the circumstances surrounding both incidents, the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire was contacted to investigate the cause. The Lavonia Fire Department responded to the blaze, with assistance from Line Fire Department, while police secured the scene.
After investigators spoke with a family member, Dutton came to the police department and was interviewed by state fire officials, police said. She was subsequently arrested on a charge of first-degree arson.
