Fire Marshal Scott Cagle said crews were called to a house fire on Skitts Mountain Road near Belton Bridge around 4 a.m. He said the temperature at the time of the call was 13-degrees with a wind chill of 2.
"We had to go to...three hydrants before we found one that could work," said Cagle. "The first two, either the lines to or the hydrants themselves, were frozen solid."
He said the roof of the house had already collapsed by the time firefighters arrived, so the frozen hydrants did not affect the outcome of the fire. White County crews assisted by bringing water to the scene.
Cagle said the 1,500 square-foot house was a rental property and was not occupied. He said he would be interviewing the owner later in the day and investigating the scene to determine a cause.
An early morning fire Friday destroyed this home on Skitts Mountain Road (Photo courtesy of Hall County Fire Services)
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