Five people escaped from a burning home early Wednesday in Alto. Two of them were injured and were taken to a local hospital, according to Habersham County Emergency Services Director Chad Black.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 1483 Yonah Post Road just after midnight. Initial reports to 911 indicated there was an elderly handicapped woman inside the residence and other occupants were trying to rescue her. When firefighters arrived, all five occupants were outside and the house was seventy-percent involved in fire, Black says.
The Lee Arrendale prison fire brigade and units from Baldwin and Banks County assisted. They helped haul in water due to the lack of hydrants in the area. The fire set off multiple explosions from a 20-pound propane cylinder on the front porch as well as oxygen cylinders and ammunition inside the residence. Black says the propane tank launched into the woods due to the heat. All of that made for “initial unsafe conditions for emergency personnel.”
Firefighters extinguished the flames and remained on the scene for five hours. Habersham EMS transported the two injured individuals by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. They included a 55-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation and a 37-year-old man who suffered minor burns. The three other occupants were not injured, Black says. The Red Cross was notified to assist the family.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Habersham emergency services has asked the State Fire Marshal’s Office to assist with its investigation.
