Two abandoned residences on Berry Road outside of Cedartown were ruled total losses late on Wednesday night after Polk County Fire-Rescue attempted to put both out, but they were too late to do more than put out the flames of fully involved structure fires.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the successful prosecution for suspected arson after the two residences on Berry Road were consumed by flames last night.
Those with information are encouraged to reach out to Georgia Arson Control’s hotline at 1-800-282-5804 to report what you know.
Chief Michael Hanuscin reported in a release that crews responded a few minutes after 8 p.m. to the first reported fire on Berry Road on Wednesday evening, September 20.
Crews were able to extinguish the fire and were out of the area when a second call came in just over an hour later to head back out to Berry Road.
Hanuscin’s release noted that crews initially thought it was rekindling of the fire they had just put out, but when engines and trucks arrived on scene the firefighters found a second structure on fire instead.
The Chief confirmed later in a phone interview that both abandoned residences were complete losses.
Polk County Fire-Rescue officials reached out to the local county Fire Investigator and the State Fire Marshal’s Office for help. They were out on the scene this morning looking over the damage and examining the structures for any clues to the potential arson suspected in the incident.
“These fires were determined to be suspicious in nature,” the release stated.
Here’s the full release:
