Fire calls, wreck, falling tree keep Hall firefighters busy

GAINESVILLE - Four calls within about a four-hour span Wednesday night kept Hall County firefighters on the run.

Chief David Kimbrell says the first of the calls came in just after 6:00.

"Firefighters dispatched to 5300 block of McEver Road on a reported house fire," Kimbrell said. "Caller was passerby that reported seeing smoke from the rear of a house."

Chief Kimbrell said the first units on the scene found smoke coming from the rear of the house. "Cause appears to be a grease fire that occurred when cooking was left temporarily unattended. Damage was estimated at $3,000 to the kitchen area"

Then, about 30 minutes later, units were dispatched to the 4200 block of Rolling Ridge Road on a report of a tree that had fallen on a man.

"Upon arrival, units found a man that had been struck by a large tree limb.
Apparently the tree began to fall and he was attempting to run from it. His only complaint was back pain." He was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center for evaluation.

Just before 9:00 Wednesay night, a wreck at Howard Road and Georgia 365 shut down a section of 365 for a time while emergency workers freed one victim from the wreckage. Kimbrell said the accident involved two cars, one of which overturned. One person was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, according to Kimbrell, who said a second person "refused transport."

The accident happened at an intersection on 365 which has been the scene of numerous wrecks in recent years, some fatal, which prompted the installation of some additional traffic control measures.

The last of the calls came in about 9:20 to a report of a house fire in the 5800 block of Overby Road but Kimbrell says there was "no problem upon arrival."