The fire that claimed the life of a man on East Currahee Street in Toccoa last week appears to have been set on purpose.
“On Aug. 8 around 5:49 p.m., officers were dispatched to East Currahee Street for a property retrieval,” Police Chief Jimmy Mize said in a press statement. “While en route, the subject called back reporting a fire at the same residence.”
Mize said officers could not make entry into the home due to the doors being nailed shut from the inside. Firefighters arrived and gained access into the house, extinguishing the fire. A body was discovered just inside the home.
A state fire investigator and the Stephens County Coroner’s Office investigated, along with the Toccoa Police Department Criminal Investigations Division.
“Based on evidence at the scene, it was determined that the death was a suicide,” Mize’s statement reads.
The State Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner's Office confirmed the death of the 60-year-old man was intentional.
