A house on Union Grove Road in Lithonia burned to the ground early Monday morning after flames that reportedly started on a couch tore through the home before firefighters could get ahead of them. DeKalb County Fire Rescue crews arrived around 5:30 a.m. to find the residence heavily engulfed, and by the time the fire was under control, the structure was a total loss.
The resident told reporters at the scene that the fire began when his couch caught fire, then spread rapidly through the rest of the interior, according to WSB-TV. That account has not been formally confirmed by fire investigators, and it remains unclear whether working smoke detectors were active inside the home, a safety measure required in Georgia under state law mandating alarms in corridors leading to sleeping areas. FOX 5 Atlanta also reported the early-morning blaze destroyed the home on Union Grove Road in DeKalb County.
One adult resident was displaced by the fire, and a DeKalb County Fire Rescue spokesperson confirmed no injuries were reported among civilians or responding crews. What kind of displacement assistance, such as Red Cross support, was offered to the resident has not been detailed.
Road Closed as Crews Mopped Up Hot Spots
Emergency officials shut down Union Grove Road to traffic as fire crews stayed on scene through Monday morning, working to extinguish remaining hot spots and disrupting the morning commute for drivers in eastern DeKalb County, the outlet’s report noted…