Woods fire destroys three campers
News April 25, 2022WHITE COUNTY, Ga. – White County Fire Services responded to a woods fire at 144 May Apple Drive in a remote area of White County Sunday that also involved three campers under the same roof.
Firefighters from Stations 3 and 7 along with mutual aid from the Helen Fire Department were called at 3:15 p.m. but when theta arrived, the campers were fully involved. A report stated a resident was burning leaves and following burning guidelines when an ember from the leaf pile was blown near the cabins, starting the fire.
It took longer than normal for the fire department to arrive at the scene due to the remote location of the fire.
A temporary pond was created from a nearby stream to draw water to fight the fire.
No injuries were reported.
Firefighters kept busy during first weekend in August
News August 3, 2020PRESS RELEASE
WHITE COUNTY, Ga. — White County firefighters were kept bus during the first weekend in August responding to vehicle accidents, medical emergencies and other incidents, three notable calls were handled by the department.
On Friday July 31 st , at approximately 5:45PM, units were dispatched to a mountain/wilderness rescue at the Raven Cliffs Trailhead. A male patient with a possible leg fracture need medical assistance and was approximately 1.5 miles up the trail. Firefighters with the City of Helen, County Station 3 and Lee Arrendale Correctional Institute fire brigade were dispatched along with EMS. The patient was extricated and transported for treatment within approximately two hours.
On Sunday, Aug. 2 , units from County Station 3, and EMS responded to Yonah Mountain Trailhead. A male patient with an apparent leg injury needed medical assistance. Personnel made contact and assisted patient from the trail. No medical transport was required. Units were back in service within two hours.
Sunday night, thunderstorms rolled through White County. An apparent lightning strike occurred to a residence at 362 Hardwood Drive. At approximately, 9:30 p.m. units were dispatched to an odor of smoke inside the residence. Cleveland City Fire, County Stations 4 and 2 responded to the incident.
Upon arrival units checked the residence and no fire was found. All units returned to service.
Sautee home destroyed by Sunday fire
News January 15, 2019SAUTEE, Ga. – Firefighters from White County, the City of Helen and Lee Arrendale Fire Brigade responded to the report of a residential fire on Deerpath Drive.
Upon arrival, firefighters discovered the 1,500-square foot home was completely engulfed in flames.
According to firefighters, there was no one home at the time of the call. However, one of the occupants came home to find that the smoke alarms were sounding and there was smoke throughout the home and called 911.
White County CERT REHAB truck was requested at the scene. Firefighters remained on the scene for five hours. No injuries were reported and Red Cross assistance was declined. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
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White County Aids Towns Co. in Mountain Rescue
News March 17, 2017CLEVELAND, Ga. — One day after rescuing a lost hiker from a snow covered trail in the Cow Rock Mountain area White County firefighters were searching for an injured person on the Appalachian Trail near Unicoi Gap in Towns County.
White County Public Safety Director David Murphy said temperatures were in the teens when the White County rescuers met up with Towns County Fire/EMS at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday.
The City of Helen Fire Department was called in to provide an ATV because the Towns County ATV had mechanical problems.
Once the patient was located, it was determined the injuries were non-life threatening and he was transported by ATV to a waiting Towns County med unit.
White County firefighters terminated the call just after midnight. The patient had non-life threatening injuries; the call lasted 5 hours from the time of initial response to termination of the call.
Firefighters Rescue Hiker Who Fell From Top of Raven Cliff Waterfall
News April 20, 2017CLEVELAND, Ga – An unidentified hiker was injured Wednesday when he fell from the top of the waterfall area of Raven Cliff at about 3 p.m.
White County Public Safety Director David Murphy said in an email that the hiker had gone to the top of the falls where he slipped and fell onto the last ledge before the main drop of the falls (approximately 55 foot vertical drop). White said firefighters from White County’s Stations 2 and 3 with mutual aid from the City of Helen Fire Department and Lee Arrendale Fire Brigade responded to the call and removed the hiker from the falls to an area where Georgia State Patrol aviation using a Bell 429 helicopter with a hoist extracted the hiker and transported him to White County Med 2 where he was further evaluated and then transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center for treatment.
White said the injuries are believed to be non-life threatening.
Coroner IDs Body Found in Home That Exploded
News February 7, 2017CLEVELAND, Ga. — CLEVELAND, Ga. — White County Coroner Ricky Barrett today identified the body found in the remains of the home that exploded at 64 Rhododendron Lane as 71-year-old Edgar Brummett of Sautee Nacoochee.
Georgia Fire Marshall Public Information Officer Glen Allen said a propane gas leak caused the explosion that completely destroyed the home and damaged several others.
The home was owned by John Edgar Boyes but no other injuries were reported.
“We do know it was a propane gas leak but we have not determined at this time what caused the leak,” Allen said.
Rhododendron Lane is located in Mt. Yonah Scenic Estates in White County.
Units from the White County Fire Department, Helen Fire Department, White County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Forestry Service all responded.
Helen Pedestrian Bridge Approved Again
News August 2, 2017HELEN, Ga. – A contract for the construction of the long-awaited — and now more expensive — pedestrian bridge over the Chattahoochee River along Main Street was awarded to Square Deal Enterprises again at Tuesday’s Helen City Council meeting.
Council originally approved the contract in June for $586,022 but was forced to rebid the project because it will be funded, in part, by federal Transportation Enhancement dollars through the Georgia Department of Transportation. The original bid did not include a provision requiring a portion of the work to be completed by minority or woman-owned business.
The bid approved Tuesday was for $623,022.
The bridge will connect the sidewalks that front The Castle Inn and Café International and is identical to the bridge that exists in front of Paul’s Steakhouse on the opposite side of Main Street.
Four companies submitted bids in June but only one met the federal requirement and it was $270,000 higher than Square Deal’s bid. The council then had to choose between accepting the higher bid or rebidding the project. They chose the latter.
The bid now goes to GDOT for final approval.
City Manager Jerry Elkins was approved to serve on the Northeast Georgia Housing Authority.
Council also approved the addition on another entrance/exit for the city fire department and the second reading of an ordinance to amend Chapter 6 of the city’s municipal code as it relates to alcoholic beverages.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Fire Marshal Confirms Gas Leak Caused Fatal Explosion
News February 7, 2017CLEVELAND, Ga. — Georgia Fire Marshall Public Information Officer Glen Allen confirmed Monday that a propane gas leak caused the explosion at 64 Rhododendron Lane in White County that killed one person, completely destroyed one home and damages several others.
Allen said the owner of the home is John Edgar Boyes but he added the identity of the male victim could not be released pending an autopsy. No other injuries were reported.
“We do know it was a propane gas leak but we have not determined at this time what caused the leak,” Allen said.
Rhododendron Lane is located in Mt. Yonah Scenic Estates in White County.
Units from the White County Fire Department, Helen Fire Department, White County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Forestry Service all responded.
Man Killed When Home on Rhododendron Lane Explodes
News February 3, 2017CLEVELAND, Ga. — A White County man was killed and several homes suffered damage when a home exploded at 64 Rhododendron Lane in Mt. Yonah Scenic Estates around 10:48 a.m. Friday.
White County Sheriff Neal Walden said this afternoon that the home was completely destroyed along with several surrounding structures and while examining the scene and debris, the man’s body was located. Officials had not released the man’s identification late Friday pending an autopsy by the state crime lab.
Walden added that units from the White County Fire Department, Helen Fire Department, White County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Forestry Service responded and that investigators are attempting do determine the cause.
The Forestry Services worked to ensure the explosion didn’t ignite fires to the surrounding forest.
Public Safety Director Murphy told reporters Friday afternoon that “ It appears a propane leak inside the residence caused the explosion.”
Skylake Fire Under Investigation
News November 28, 2016WHITE COUNTY, Ga. — Firefighters were called to the scene of a residential fire at 1356 Woodbrier in the Skylake Community shortly after midnight Sunday.
Units from White County Fire Stations, 2,3 and 6 responded along with Automatic Aid from the City of Helen and Lee Arrendale Correctional Institute but the fire was fully involved when they arrived.
Upon arrival of the first fire units, all occupants were out of the home and stated they had been out of town and had just returned to find the home heavy with fire.
Firefighters extinguished the fire at the structure and also where it had extended into the woods. Georgia Forestry was called to the scene and assisted in putting out what hot spots remained. They returned later in the day to extinguish additional hot spots. Habersham
State Fire Investigator, Robbie Wilkins, was called to the scene where the fire is currently under investigation.
The Red Cross was not called as the residents stated they had family in the County and would be staying with them.
Firefighters were on scene for approximately five hours. No injuries were reported.
Firefighters Kept Busy on Weekend Leading Up to Thanksgiving
News November 22, 2016CLEVELAND, Ga. – While most Georgians were making plans to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families, White County’s public safety personnel, police and firefighters spent a busy weekend fulfilling their missions.
Public Safety Director David Murphy said in an email firefighters from all White County stations responded to many incidents throughout the weekend, including 10 ilegal burns and brush fires medical calls assisting Emergency Medical Services and auto accident.
On Sunday alone, the calls included structural fires and lost persons on Yonah Mountain.
Early Sunday morning, Murphy said, fire units responded on auto-aide to the city of Helen for a reported Commercial Fire on Edelweiss Strasse, and were later cancelled.
At 10:35 AM, 911 received a call of a structure fire in a commercial building at the Allison Honey Building off Town Creek Road. Fire Station 5, 6 and 2 along with mutual aid from the City of Cleveland responded to the incident and found approximately a 1200-square foot wood frame structure with heavy fire showing.
Murphy said a quick interior attack knocked down the fire but the building and contents were destroyed. The fire believed to have started from a wood stove located in the building. No injuries were reported.
At 11:13 a.m. 911 received a call from two teens on Yonah Mountain. Murphy said, the two had been hiking for about two hours and were lost. They were off the trail and could not find their way back. Firefighters from Station 3 and Station 2 responded to the location and located the two hikers at approximately 1:28PM.
At 10:58 p.m., another structure fire was reported at 224 Magnolia Drive. firefighters from Station 2, Station 3 and Mutual Aid from Helen City and Lee Arrendale Correctional Institute responded to the incident. Upon first arrival of Engine 2, they reported heavy fire in a two-story structure.
Firefighters battled the blaze until 12:38 a.m. when the decision was made to go into defensive operations. The Georgia Forestry Commission was notified along with the state fire investigator. Murphy said the residence did not have power. He said the fire was apparently caused by a wood stove in the basement. Firefighters remained on the scene until approximately 7:30 a.m. No injuries were reported.
“Our firefighters along with the City of Cleveland and City of Helen do a remarkable job, our volunteers are dedicated and we appreciate the sacrifices they make on behalf of our community to keep us safe.”
Structure Fire Reported in Sautee
News November 22, 2016SAUTEE, Ga. — A fire of unknown origin damaged a dog kennel in Sautee before spreading to a nearby barn, shed and tree canopy Monday but no injuries were reported.
White County firefighters first responded to a 9-1-1 call about a smoldering kennel at 401 Dormitory Hill Road off Garland Bristol Road at 11:42 a.m.
White County Public Safety Director David Murphy said before they arrived, they received a second call that the fire had spread to the barn and shed. The fire spread to a canopy of trees and a full alarm went out.
“That brought Helen City Fire on mutual aid, and Station 2,” Murphy said via email. “Georgia Forestry responded due to an extension in the woods across from the structure.”
Before the fire was brought under control two hours later, about one-half acre had been consumed
“Firefighters did rescue some dogs from the kennel area, and no injuries were reported,” Murphy said, adding he is not aware of any dogs perishing in the fire.