Firefighters responded Monday to a structure fire at 251 Sloppy Floyd Lake Road. Summerville, Hays Correctional and Gore fire departments all responded to the scene.
Fire officials told WZQZ News the fire is believed to have started at the front of the residence, although the exact cause remains under investigation. Firefighters say suppression efforts were complicated by a large amount of material in and around the front of the home, which added fuel to the fire.
Officials said this was the second structure fire reported on the property this year.
A residential structure fire late Sunday night sent four people to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and claimed the lives of three family pets.
According to fire officials, the Gore Fire Department, along with the Sublignaand Hays Fire Departments, was dispatched at 10:54 p.m. Sundayto a house fire at 2305 Highway 27.
When firefighters arrived, the home was reported to be about 40 percent involved, with heavy fire coming from the roof and front entrance. All occupants had made it out of the home, but several pets were still believed to be inside.
During aggressive firefighting efforts and an initial search, firefighters found three petsinside the structure. Two dogs were removed and CPR was performed for several minutes. A third pet was found later during salvage and overhaul operations and was also removed from the home.
Officials said four occupants were transported by Floyd EMS for smoke inhalationand were reported to be in stable condition.
Sadly, officials said none of the three pets survived.
The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical in nature, beginning at the electric water heater.
Chattooga County Commissioner Andy Allen said Tuesday that a barn on his farm was destroyed after being struck by lightning during storms overnight.
Allen and his wife, Whitney, said the lightning strike hit a fence charger, which sparked the fire that resulted in the barn being a total loss.
In a statement, the Allens thanked the Gore Fire Department and Hays State Prison firefighters for their quick response.
“We want to take this opportunity to thank Gore Fire Department and Hays Prison on their quick response and professionalism that they showed early this morning,” the statement said. “During the storms last night lightning hit our fence charger which sparked a fire and our barn was a total loss.”
The Allens said firefighters worked quickly to ensure the fire was fully contained and did not spread to their nearby horse barn.
“We appreciate their efforts and kindness,” the statement concluded.
