Rabun County fire officials say they still don’t know what caused a house to go up in flames before sunrise Sunday.
The blaze broke out around 3:30 a.m. at 163 Stancil Lane in Wiley.
Firefighters from Rabun County, Tiger, and Tallulah Falls responded to the scene. They had to shuttle water into the area using tanker trucks because of a lack of fire hydrants. Fire personnel remained on the scene for nearly five hours.
The fire gutted the wood-frame structure. The Red Cross was called in to assist the displaced family.
Rabun County Assistant Fire Chief Justin Upchurch says the cause of the fire remains “undetermined.”
Two fires in 12 hours
The blaze in Wiley was the second of two structure fires that Rabun County Fire Services responded to within 12 hours of each other over the weekend. The other was reported at 5:28 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 at a home located at 697 Oscar Rock Road off of Plum Orchard.
When firefighters arrived on the scene they reported light smoke showing from the crawlspace vents of the two-story home.
“Upon entering, the fire appeared to have started in the crawlspace in a heat pump and penetrated the kitchen floor,” says Upchurch. He says the fire was contained quickly with the heaviest damage located in the kitchen/laundry area.
Fire units were on the scene for just over two hours. Upchurch says no one was at home at the time of the fire.
Correction: A previous version of this story indicated the Stancil Lane address was in Lakemont
