Arson fire damages restroom at Habersham Hardware store in Clarkesville

CLARKESVILLE – Officials want to know who started a fire inside an occupied Clarkesville hardware store Tuesday afternoon.

Habersham County Fire Chief Jeff Cain said Habersham County and Clarkesville firefighters were called to Habersham Hardware, 5926 Highway 115 West, Clarkesville, at 4:44 p.m., arriving a short time later.

“Upon further investigation, crews found fire in the bathroom and it self-extinguished by burning a water line,” Cain said. “There appeared to be two points of origin.”

After determining the fire had not spread, fire crews secured the area and secured the building until an investigator from Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens’ office arrived.

An investigator in Hudgens’ Fire Unit estimates damages from the blaze at $1,000.

Hudgens is asking anyone with information about the fire to call the Georgia Arson Hotline at (800) 282-5804. Rewards of up to $10,000 are given for information leading to the arrest and conviction of an arsonist. Calls are taken 24 hours a day; callers can choose to remain anonymous.

Habersham County Fire Department is assisting with the investigation.

State officials are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who set fire to a restroom inside Habersham Hardware in Clarkesville Tuesday afternoon.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/3/653350/arson-fire-damages-restroom-at-habersham-hardware-store-in-clarkesville