Rome-Floyd County firefighters spent the better part of five hours battling a blaze in an extremely remote area off Black’s Bluff Road on Saturday.

One firefighter suffered a medical emergency during the incident and was rushed to Redmond Regional Medical Center. Another person, who either lived on the property, or was working at the site, suffered burn injuries to an arm and was also taken to Redmond.

Acting Battalion Chief Clay Walker said investigators from the Fire Marshal’s office were called to investigate the cause of the fire.

The cam in at around 1:20 p.m. Saturday reporting a vacant home in the 8400 block of Black’s Bluff Road, on the south side of the road, just east of the State Line Baptist Church. The call came in as a grass and woods fire that was close to a purportedly vacant home. It wasn’t long after the initial call went out that dispatchers told first responders there might be someone at the residence who was working on an irrigation system.

The first units on the scene reported three large explosions and by 2 p.m. the crews on the scene were reporting the house as a total loss. Division Chief Brad Roberson said at least one outbuilding and several vehicles were also seriously damaged.

Georgia Forestry personnel also responded to the scene to plow a fire break on the south side of the property to keep the fire from spreading to a series of chicken houses on property off George Road.

In addition to Rome-Floyd County firefighters, units from the cave Spring Fire Department aided in containing the fire along with a tanker truck from Cherokee County.

ROME NEWS TRIBUNE