Gwinnett Daily Post

Men save 3 from burning home

BUFORD - Firefighters responded to a house fire at 1457 Rock Springs Road on Wednesday morning after receiving an emergency call from passersby noticing smoke from the residence.

At about 10:31 a.m. crews arrived and found the men who made the call outside the single-story, wood-frame house trying to put the fire out with garden hoses. Rutledge said that wasn't their only act of courage.

"They not only recognized something was wrong and called it in, but they knocked on the door and went inside the house where they found a mother and two young children sleeping in a bedroom," Rutledge said. "They woke them up and got them out."

Rutledge said the fire, which caused moderate damage to the exterior wall, had extended inside near the kitchen cabinets, sending smoke throughout the home.

"It's our belief that in another four or five minutes, the occupants would have suffered from smoke inhalation," Rutledge said.

The home was not equipped with fire detectors, Rutledge said, but firefighters installed one before leaving the scene.

No one was injured and the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Vacant home severely damaged

LAWRENCEVILLE - A fire scorched the interior of a vacant home in the 3600 block of Woodington Place in Lawrenceville early Wednesday.

The fire, reported about 1 a.m., caused extensive damage to the split-level home, said Fire Department spokesman Capt. Thomas Rutledge. No injuries were reported.

The exact cause is under investigation, he said.

Man's shed burns down

LILBURN - A shed was destroyed behind a residence at 1086 Mandalay Court Wednesday afternoon.

Fire crews responded to the home at 3:06 p.m. Rutledge said the homeowner was burning debris in a barrel when he went inside for a few minutes. The fire somehow spread to the shed, which was used as a woodworking shop.

Two buildings burned

LOGANVILLE - Firefighters responded to a fire in the 1800 block of Rose Garden Lane just after noon Wednesday to find two sheds ablaze.

Rutledge said the sheds were in the backyards of adjacent homes. Both utility buildings sustained heavy damage. Rutledge said one of the home's occupants said he had seen smoke in the woods earlier but "didn't think much of it."

No injuries were reported. The exact cause of the fire is under investigation.