Second business fire in two weeks extinguished at Tallassee Road

Authorities with Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services are still working to determine the cause of a large business fire Sunday night at Hogan Lumber.

Athens-Clarke County Fire and EMS worked for 18 hours to control the fire at 325 Tallassee Road. A metal structure caught on fire, and crews were concerned about the possibility of the fire spreading through the woods to residential areas.

No injuries were reported during the fire, but Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services Battalion Chief Nate Moss said that approximately $70,000 worth of lumber that was being stored for another company was destroyed.

“They're still currently actually smoldering fires at that location,” Moss said. “Very small, no danger spreading to any neighboring properties. It's all confined to the area, but they're just smoldering fires that we’re kind of letting just burn and run its course.”

State and local investigators will investigate the property on Thursday to determine the cause of the fire. But according to preliminary investigations, authorities believe the fire may have been unintentionally set.

“There's been evidence to show that there's been homeless people that have been setting up camp on that location in multiple places throughout the property, inside the building and also outside the building,” Moss. “I’m not saying the fire was intentional by any means. I'm just saying that there's been a human element that's been involved with problems we've been having.”

Another fire happened at the property on Dec. 10, but it was in a separate building. Moss said the property owner has been trying to remove the homeless camps in order to avoid an incident like this.

“There's no danger,” Moss said. “I know there's many in the community that are probably concerned because there's residential areas in close proximity. But there is no danger at this point of anything from this fire causing a problem. We will obviously be checking on the property periodically until we do our investigation, just to make sure things are under control. And I'm sure that the property owner will also be out there on a regular basis to check things as well.”

Original story posted 12-19-2022 at 7:40 p.m.

No injuries were reported, but Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services were sent Sunday night to extinguish a large structure fire on Tallassee Road.

 

This was the second time that fire crews were called to 325 Tallassee Road this month. The first unit arrived at the scene around 7:53 p.m. and reported that a metal-framed structure was fully involved in flames.

 

The agency said in a press release that heavy fire conditions at the time prevented firefighters from performing a full search for possible victims. 

 

Firefighters prepared for a defensive operation and used large hose lines on the ground and used an aerial ladder truck for an elevated stream of water.

 

Firefighting efforts continued through the night and into this morning as crews searched for and put out small, hidden fires.  Authorities were concerned about the possibility of the fire extending into the woods and nearby residential areas. The Athens-Clarke County Public Works Department dispatched heavy debris-moving equipment, which allowed firefighters to search the structure and extinguish the remaining fires.

 

Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services were sent on Dec. 10 to extinguish another fire at the same address. However, this fire was located in a different building.

 

Investigators are looking into the cause of the fire. AccessWDUN has reached out to Athens-Clarke County Fire Battalion Chief Nate Moss for comment.