WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Two Warner Robins residents are picking up the pieces after a devastating house fire burned their home to the ground Wednesday evening, according to Houston County Fire Chief Chris Stoner.
The fire, which broke out in the 200 block of Baker Road in Warner Robins, was called into 911 just before 5 p.m. Four hours later, the fire department was still on the scene, Stoner said.
After they arrived at the home, he says they quickly realized the home was going to be "a total loss."
"It was a total loss when we arrived," Stoner said. "The initial call stated it was fully involved and our initial truck that arrived a few minutes later confirmed that it was fully involved."
By the time the fire crews arrived, the fire had already jumped from inside the home and to a few vehicles in the yard, Stoner said.
Because of that, the fight quickly became containing the fire — preventing the spread of the fire to nearby homes — since the blaze was already too extensive to save the home, Stoner said.
Right now, the cause of the fire is unknown, and Stoner says it will not be an easy investigation.
"With this one, it'll take a while. Our investigators are going to have to do some pretty extensive digging," Stoner said. "It's a total loss. It may take them several weeks to get anything close to definitive."
They're going to have to rely on interviews with residents and going through the rubble to figure out what happened, Stoner said.
In the meantime, the fire department connected the family to the Red Cross to help the residents get back on their feet. Stoner says their thoughts are with the family.
"Our prayers are with the residents as they try to got through the recovery process," he said.