A Banks County family has lost their home due to an early morning fire Thursday in the Trotters Glen subdivision just south of Baldwin.
According to Banks County Fire Chief Steve Nichols, Banks County Fire and Emergency Services responded to 619 Trotters Glen at 7:34 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, to a reported structure fire. When units arrived, they encountered a large single family residence with heavy fire showing.
According to Nichols, the residents were home when the fire broke out and all occupants were accounted for. Firefighters had difficulty extinguishing the fire due to the lack of fire hydrants in the area and required a water shuttle to provide water on the scene.
Fire crews required assistance from Habersham County Fire Department, Tates Creek Fire Department, and inmate firefighters from LACI, Jackson County CI.
There were no injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Banks County Fire Department. Fire crews cleared the scene at 2:30 p.m.
Local nurse
Homeowner Dena Chapman-Dyer was at work as a nurse for Northeast Georgia Medical Center Habersham when the fire occurred. She said that her husband Gary and son Jacob were home when the fire broke out.
Gary stated that when he woke up at around 7:30 a.m. he smelled something and checked the house. He added that the smoke alarms did activate. He and the oldest son Jacob located the fire in the attic. Jacob attempted to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher but the fire was too intense and called 911.
According to Gary, from the time they found the fire and the house becoming a total loss took about 40 minutes.
Dena is thankful that her husband and son, as well as their cat and dog made it out of the house without injury. However, they have not found their cat since fire crews were on scene all morning and part of the afternoon.
The Dyer family said they have family members in the area that will be helping them. However, the Red Cross was on scene Thursday afternoon gathering information from the family to provide assistance.
Family members have set up an account with United Community Bank for donations to assist the family during this challenging time. Donations can be made at any branch for Dena Chapman-Dyer and Elizabeth Church. For more information, those wishing to make a donation can speak with Kim Reed and Julie Hendrix at the Cornelia branch. Donations can also be made through Venmo to SuperDuct/706-436-3005.
This is at least the sixth fire over the last week in Northeast Georgia.
