Officials are investigating the cause of a house fire that gutted a home north of Clarkesville on Tuesday. Firefighters were unable to save much of the structure but they did save the resident’s cat.
The fire broke out around 4:35 p.m. at 184 Valley Village Court off Highway 17. When units arrived, the single-wide modular home was 40% involved, says Habersham County Emergency Services Director Chad Black.
Firefighters from HCES, Clarkesville, and Lee Arrendale made an aggressive attack and were able to extinguish the flames. Bystanders told them the resident was not home but she did have a cat.
Fire personnel located the scared feline in a rear bedroom. The cat was singed around the nose and mouth and was having trouble breathing from smoke inhalation. After administering oxygen, firefighters turned over the cat to Habersham Animal Control to be checked out and housed for the night while the displaced homeowner made other arrangements.
The HCES Facebook page posted it appears the cat “will be okay,” adding, “it doesn’t get much better” than when they can reunite a pet and their human.
According to Black, the fire appears to have started outside the residence.
