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Fire destroys deserted Long Co. home
High winds reignited blaze on the following day
web 0504 Long Co fire 2
A chimney and a pile of charred rubble are all that remained Sunday morning of a home on Rye Patch Road that caught fire Saturday. - photo by Mikee Riddle

A deserted old home on Rye Patch Road burned to the ground Saturday, and the blaze reignited Sunday but was extinguished by Long County firefighters.
Rye Patch resident Melissa Golden said she was driving on Rye Patch Road at around 5:30 p.m. Saturday when she saw an old home on fire. She dialed 911 and units from the Ludowici/Long County Fire Department responded to the call.
L/LCFD Assistant Chief Richard Truman said firefighters arrived and found the house and surrounding brush fully engulfed in flames. The firefighters hosed down what was left of the home and extinguished the brush fire to prevent it from spreading into the woods.
“The structure was a deserted home that no one had lived in for a while now and with it being fully engulfed, there wasn’t much we could do except extinguish the existing fire and make sure that no fire spread anywhere else,” Truman said.
Although the structure fire was extinguished, another motorist driving down Rye Patch Road at around 2 p.m. Sunday spotted flames around the charred rubble and called to report the fire. Truman and L/LCFD firefighters responded to the call within minutes and put out the hot spots that had reignited near a tree adjacent to the home.
Even though the blaze was extinguished Saturday, Truman said, winds picked up Sunday and the heat in the remains rekindled the fire.
“Fortunately, on both days, people who were driving by reported the fires and we were able to get out here quickly and put these fires out. If anyone sees a fire, we encourage them to call 911 as quickly as they can,” Truman said.
The Georgia Forestry Commission’s Long County division also responded to both calls.
The cause of the initial fire has not yet been determined and the case still is under investigation, the assistant chief said.

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