Rome News-Tribune

2 residentia­l fires at vacant houses are being investigat­ed

One home is gutted and another is heavily damaged, but neither house was occupied.

- By Doug Walker Associate Editor DWalker@RN-T.com

Rome Fire Marshal’s office investigat­ors are looking into a pair of fires that have occurred early Wednesday and Thursday in the Lindale and Coosa communitie­s. The fire Wednesday gutted a vacant home on Cliffbrink Avenue in Lindale while a blaze caused moderate to heavy damages to a home on Barker Road in the Coosa area.

Battalion Chief Gene Proctor said the fire at 739 Barker Road was reported by a passerby at 3:38 a.m. Thursday morning. According to investigat­or Mary Catherine Chewning, the home owned by Steve Cason was unoccupied but was being remodeled.

“First units on the scene reported heavy fire coming from the front of the house,” Proctor said. “We have no idea what the cause is right now.”

Chewning said it appears the Barker Road fire started in a front living room facing Barker The home at 134 Cliffbrink Ave. in Lindale is completely gutted after a fire. There were no live utilities to the building when the blaze

Road but the specific cause has not been determined.

Proctor also said a blaze reported Wednesday morning at 5:30 resulted in

broke out around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, so the cause has been labelled suspicious and the fire is under investigat­ion.

the total loss of the home at 134 Cliffbrink Ave. “The house was vacant, actually in repossessi­on by a bank, and there was no power or gas to the house,” Proctor said. “The fire was through the roof when we got on the scene.”

Floyd County tax records indicate the property was recently owned by Michael Underwood.

Chewning said there were two areas of origin for the Cliffbrink Avenue Doug Walker / Rome News-Tribune

fire. “The primary area was right in the center of the house,” Chewning.

The blaze burned so heavily that trees which surrounded by side and the rear of the house were completely singed and firefighte­rs worked to prevent the blaze from spreading to adjacent business Lindale Machine & Tool.

Three engine companies were at the Lindale fire for nearly five hours.

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