Investigation into fire at abandoned home continues

Rome-Floyd County firefighters get caught up in a lengthy overhaul of a fire at a 5 Davis St. home, and are unable to send personnel inside due to the home’s unsound structure.

The cause of a fire at a derelict home on Davis Street remained undetermined as an investigation continued a day after the Tuesday night blaze, according to fire investigator Ricky Cooper.

Arson is one possibility, as there were no utilities to the home at 5 Davis St. and it was not occupied, but investigators are looking at a number of other potential causes as well, Cooper added.

“Anything is possible,” he said.

Mary Catherine Chewning, also an investigator with the Rome-Floyd County Fire Department, said arson certainly can’t be ruled out. However, it could also have been someone smoking inside, a homeless person setting a fire to stay warm, or downed power lines from a fallen tree, she continued.

Firefighters dispatched to the two-story, old wooden-frame home around 8:30 p.m., and found the upper portion on fire, said Battalion Chief Clete Bonney. The home was not completely destroyed, said Cooper.

Due to how structurally unsound the home is, with sections of the upstairs floors caving in, firefighters couldn’t perform an interior attack, he said. It was as if the whole house was about to topple over, he added.

They had been told there was a homeless person staying inside for the last few nights, so firefighters used a thermalimaging camera from the outside to verify no one was inside, Bonney said.

It took about 15 minutes to contain the fire, but the complete overhaul took close to two hours. Typically this latter phase can be completed in 30 to 45 minutes, Bonney explained.

Working off 24-foot extension ladders, firefighters shot water in through windows and used pikes to pull apart the ceiling to get to hotspots.

In addition, they had to cut off a portion of a 2-foot diameter tree that had previously fallen on the roof, which had caught fire, Bonney said. A large portion of it remained on

the roof, adding weight on the unstable structure, he said.

“We try to keep a good idea of where the abandoned or condemned structures are,” said Bonney, adding that the department has an MO on each of them to guide their response.

Chewning also gave an update on an arson investigation

concerning an October 2016 fire at the DIGS Inc. home for adults with developmental challenges. The case remains open but investigators have no new leads, something she informed the president of the nonprofit, Charles Schroeder, of Wednesday morning, she said. She still hopes someone in the community has information that could uncover new leads.

Anyone with information can call Chewning at 706591-0025, Rome police Capt. Roy Willingham at 706-2385121 or the police department’s anonymous tip line at 706-236-5000.