Fire Guts Furniture Manufacturer in Toccoa

By Charlie Bauder, WNEG Radio, Toccoa

In Stephens County, authorities continue to search for the cause of a fire that destroyed a furniture manufacturer over the weekend.

It happened Saturday morning at the Heavywood Furniture plant on Industrial Boulevard.

Carnes Creek Volunteer Fire Chief Jody Marcus says crews responded the blaze around 10a Saturday morning.

“We initially had reports of smoke in the area,” said Marcus. “Law enforcement came and verified it was the business. About the same time, 911 center received an automatic alarm to this address. We had three departments initially responding. Upon arrival, they had heavy smoke coming from the building. They had to actually force entry on the gate to get in to the property. We have just been battling heat and smoke to get inside the metal building to take care of the fire.”

Flames gutted the whole building and it is a total loss.  Marcus says crews from throughout Stephens County responded to assist in putting out the blaze.

Those departments included Carnes Creek, City of Toccoa Station 10, Eastanollee, Big Smith, New Hope, and Shiloh, said Marcus.  Also, Oconee County, South Carolina brought ventilation fans to help cool firefighters, and the Stephens County Road Department brought a track hoe to assist, he said.

Remaining volunteer fire departments worked to cover the rest of Stephens County while crews remained on the scene of the furniture fire.

Firefighters spent most of Saturday battling the blaze in the intense summer heat and humidity that reached temperatures of 95 degrees in Toccoa by Saturday afternoon.   Marcus says the heat posed yet another challenge for firefighters.

“It has been rough on firefighters, trying to stay hydrated,” said Marcus. “Our gear protects us from heat but it also holds the heat and humidity in.”

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire and there were no injuries.  However, one firefighter reportedly hurt his hand while battling the blaze.

Investigators with the State’s Fire Marshal’s office are back on the scene again today to determine a possible cause to that fire.