Commercial Fire, Car Fire Keep Firefighters Busy Wednesday
News July 26, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – The White County Fire Department with automatic aid from the City of Cleveland Fire Department responded to a fire at Freudenberg NOK at 7 a.m. Wednesday.
Upon arrival, fire units were escorted to a dryer room where a dryer unit had ignited. The fire was quickly extinguished by fire personnel and the damage was contained to the affected dryer unit.
There was no damage to the building and no injuries. The cause of the fire is believed to be a malfunction of equipment.
At 9:30 a.m., a Sky Lake resident was returning home when her vehicle experienced a mechanical failure. The vehicle stopped running near the pool area in Sky Lake and once the driver and a young occupant exited, the engine compartment became fully involved.
Firefighters from Station 3 and the City of Helen Fire Department extinguished the fire. There were no injuries and property damage was limited to the vehicle.
City/County Fire Departments Fight Camper Blaze
News November 14, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – The White County Fire Department, with automatic aid from the City of Cleveland Fire Department, responded to a camper fire behind Mossy Creek Grocery south of Cleveland at approximately 2 p.m. today (Nov. 14).
Public Safety Director David Murphy said when fire units arrived, they discovered a 28-foot camper with smoke showing.
“The occupants were not home at the time and 911 was alerted by neighbors who originally attempted to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher,” Murphy said in an email. “An investigation was conducted and found that the roof air conditioner malfunctioned which caused the living area to ignite.”
The camper received smoke damage and is considered a total loss. Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the owners. No injuries were reported.
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
Kitchen Fire on River Run Causes Minor Damage
Business September 21, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – Ana Newberry, spokeswoman for White County Fire Services, reported a residential fire at 425 River Forest Run Wednesday afternoon.
Newberry said upon arrival of the first fire unit, firefighters saw smoke coming from the front door of a two-story, wood frame structure. They shut off the propane to the structure while conducting a walk around. Upon entry to the home, they found that there was a small fire in the kitchen.
They set up a positive pressure ventilation fan to remove the smoke. The fire was contained to the kitchen cabinets with little fire damage to the main floor. The structure was checked with a thermal imaging camera and all was clear.

After the fire was extinguished, fire personnel removed as much water and debris from the structure as possible. Habersham Electric Membership Coop was contacted and decided to pull the meter, cutting off power to the residents due to possible electrical dangers.
There was no one home at the time of the fire. However, the smoke alarms were operational and sounding upon arrival of firefighters. There were no injuries and the homeowner declined Red Cross assistance because he has family in the area to stay with.
It was determined that the fire started with candle that had been left unattended and ignited the kitchen cabinets.
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 Units Respond to Two Weekend Calls
News November 14, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. –- Public Safety Director David Murphy reported on Monday that the White County Fire Department along with automatic aid from the City of Cleveland Fire Department responded to two fire calls over the weekend.
On Saturday, fire units responded to a call at a residence on Driskell Road at 7:23 p.m. Murphy said the first units on the scene used a thermal imaging camera in the crawl space on the side of structure and discovered that a water tank had shorted out due to water damaging the electrical components. There was no fire or smoke at the scene. Fire personnel advised the homeowner to replace the damaged water tank. Fire personnel secured the water and power to the appliance.
On Sunday, at approximately 5:39 p.m., fire units responded to a fire at Affordable Auto Repair on Highway 115 West. Cleveland fire units were the first to arrive and found a homemade heater that had malfunctioned sending flames from the side of the heater. The heater was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported.
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
No Injuries Reported at Nursing Home Fire
News September 5, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – White County Fire Department with automatic aid from the City of Cleveland Fire Department responded to a fire at the Friendship Nursing Home, 161 Friendship Road Sunday evening.
No fire or smoke was visible from the exterior of the building when the first units arrived. However, there was smoke inside. Nursing home personnel were already in the process of moving residents to safety. Firefighters discovered the source of the small fire was a fan in the storage room. It was quickly extinguished and the fire crew conducted a further investigation.
The nursing home staff contacted an electrician which concluded that the building was safe for the residents to return. There was one minor injury to a staff member that had inhaled some smoke who did not require transport to the hospital.
Firefighters were on scene for 2 ½ hours.
Firefighters Respond to Fire at Subway
News July 23, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. — Cleveland Fire Chief Ricky Pruitt reported a fire at the Subway shop at 897 Main Street Thursday at 7:41 p.m.
Pruitt said units from the Cleveland Fire Department were dispatched in response to an electrical fire. A customer in the restaurant used a fire extinguisher to slow the spread of the fire before firefighters arrived. The fire was located in the wall of the restaurant which had to be partially removed to extinguish the fire completely.
Units from the White County Fire Department were also dispatched but Pruitt said they were cancelled prior to their arrival.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Fire Damages Home on Jesse Hunt Road
News September 19, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – Cleveland Fire Chief Ricky Pruitt reports that a fire destroyed the kitchen and did extensive smoke damage throughout a home at 294 Jess Hunt Road Friday.
Pruitt said the first fire units on scene discovered the fire in the kitchen area and it was quickly extinguished with automatic aid from the White County Fire Department. No injuries were reported.
The occupants were away from home when the fire started and the power had been out for several days prior to the fire.
Pruitt said the fire was investigated by Assistant Cleveland Fire Investigator Jason Davis, appears to have been caused by an electrical malfunction and does not appear to be suspicious.
Fall Injures Woman on Smith Creek Trail
News August 7, 2017
HELEN, Ga. – An unidentified 53-year-old female suffered a broken ankle Saturday while hiking along Smith Creek Trail in Unicoi State Park just north of Helen and had to be airlifted by a Department of Natural Resources helicopter.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources spokesman Mark McKinnon said, “Because of how rugged the terrain is we couldn’t transport her on a stretcher so we used a long line beneath a helicopter to extract her and bring her to the nearest landing zone.”
White County Public Safety Spokeswoman Ana Newberry said White County firefighters with mutual aid from the City of Helen and Lee Arrendale and White County EMS were also dispatched to provide assistance.
One firefighter received minor injuries from a fall during the rescue attempt but did not need to be transported.
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
Firefighters Battle Blaze on Mount Pleasant
News March 13, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. — White County and the City of Cleveland firefighters were called on to battle a residential blaze on Mount Pleasant Road in northern White County around 10:45 a.m. on Sunday.
When the first units arrived, flames were visible on the front portion of the home. All occupants were outside. Firefighters quickly set up and extinguished the fire. When occupants advised their dog was still inside, firemen entered the home and brought the dog to safety.
Fire personnel checked the area for hot spots and extensions but none were found.
The electrical power was shutoff to the residence by Habersham Electric Membership Coop and the occupants were advised to have an electrician inspect the residence before turning the power back on.
The Red Cross was contacted to assist 3 adults and 4 animals.
White County EMS responded to more than 30 emergency calls over the weekend
News December 12, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – White County Emergency Services reported an extremely busy weekend.
Administrative Firefighter Ana Newberry said firefighters responded to three structure fires, 10 medical assistance calls, seven motor vehicle accidents and 18 “other” calls, including lines down, trees down and/or public assistance calls from Friday through Sunday.
At approximately 1 p.m. Friday, White County Fire Department responded to a fire at 8925 Duncan Bridge Road. Although no one is living in the home, the power was still on. It is believed an animal chewed through some electrical wires and started the fire. There were no injuries, but the house is a total loss.
Firefighters were on a call at 660 Asbestos Road for five hours on Saturday where a fire started in the rear of the home. The family was at home at the time of the fire, but no injuries were reported.
Also on Saturday, firefighters were summoned to what was believed to be a fire at 161 Hawks Nest in Sautee. As it turned out, the house was not on fire, but live power lines were on the ground and arcing. Firefighters were on the scene for approximately two hours.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. Sunday, there was a camper fire at Jennie’s Campground on Hwy. 129 North which firefighters quickly extinguished. One occupant suffered minor smoke inhalation but did not want to be transported. No other injuries were reported. The camper is no longer livable.
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
Yonah Mountain Campground Fire Destroys RV
News November 8, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – The White County Fire Department, with automatic aid from the City of Cleveland, responded to an RV camper that caught fire Monday at Yonah Mountain Campground off Helen Highway.
White County Public Safety Director David Murphy said upon arrival of the first fire units, the RV camper was fully involved and fire had extended to a neighboring shed where it had broken a window and sustained charring from the heat. Another camper close to the shed suffered some heat damage where the occupants had been home at the time.
The State Fire Investigator was called to the scene to determine the cause of the fire. It is currently under investigation. No injuries were reported.
White Co. Firefighters Rescue Lost Hiker
News March 17, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. — White County Public Safety Director David Murphy reported that rescuers from White County Fire, the Department of Natural Resources , White County EMS and Lumpkin County Fire worked for more than four hours to locate a lost hiker on the Tesnatee Gap trailhead near Cow Rock Mountain.
They hiked in about 35 minutes on a snow and ice covered trail before locating the unidentified hiker who, Murphy said, is an avid hiker from Rhode Island. She was not injured, but with the trail covered by snow, the hiker lost her way.
Murphy added the hiker was very glad to see rescuers as the temperature was 24 degrees with wind blowing at 12-15 miles per hour and the sun was going down.
All personnel escorted her down the trail.
White County Aids Towns Co. in Mountain Rescue
News March 17, 2017
CLEVELAND, 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.
No Injuries in White County House Fire
News March 10, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. — White County and City of Cleveland fire departments responded to a residential fire at 377 Oglethorpe Lane in northern White County Wednesday afternoon.
Upon arrival, firefighters were advised by the residents that they had pulled back the pinning to the mobile home and extinguished the fire with a garden hose.
The residents stated that they had been out of the state and had just returned earlier that morning. As protocol, the county Fire Investigator – Robert Wilkins, was called to the scene to determine the cause of the fire. After a thorough investigation, Wilkins stated that there was a short in the HVAC system.
Firefighters then checked deep underneath the home and discovered residual smoke and removed some insulation so no further ignition would occur.
The residents were advised to keep the power off until the HVAC was repaired and a qualified electrician inspected the home. The property owner was contacted and advised of the situation.
No injuries were reported and the residents declined assistance from the Red Cross.
No Injuries Reported in Residential Fire Wednesday
News September 7, 2017
CLEVELAND – Units from the White County and Cleveland Fire Departments responded to a residential fire Wednesday evening at 85 Ellis Drive in Cleveland.
White County Public Safety Director David Murphy reported that a dryer at the home caught fire and when the residents’ attempt to extinguish the blaze with a chemical extinguisher was unsuccessful they called 9-1-1.
Fire personnel quickly extinguished the fire then placed a smoke ejector in the residence to eradicate the home of smoke. All other fire units were canceled and damage was contained to the dryer unit only.
The occupants did have working smoke alarms and they did activate.
Fortunately here were no injuries reported.
Fire Destroys Barn on Albert Reid Road
News May 3, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – White County firefighters from Stations 6, 2 and 4 and the Cleveland Fire Department were dispatched to a fire in the 1700 block of Albert Reid Road Tuesday.
When they arrived, a 1,500-square foot barn that contained farm equipment, supplies and some lumber was fully involved. They completed knockdown in 35 minutes but the barn was a total loss. Firefighters remained on the scene for 90 minutes. There were no injuries but what caused the fire is undetermined and is still under investigation.




