A two-alarm fire destroyed an abandoned building on Savannah’s eastside and extensively damaged a second building Saturday night.
Firefighters were called to the initial fire about 8:15 p.m. at the vacant structure in the 600 block of East Gwinnett Street that stood between a train bridge and East Broad Street, where they found the building fully involved, said Mark Keller, department spokesman. A second call for personnel was then made as firefighters attempted to keep the fire from spreading to the house only a few yards to the structure’s west.
Although the blaze was eventually extinguished, it did spread to the second building, Keller said. Two people were displaced from that home and the American Red Cross was called to assist them.
“We did everything we could to keep it from that second structure,” he said. “It’s mostly limited to the attic area in that house, but the people who live there aren’t going to be able to stay there right now.”
One firefighter injured his knee during the incident. He was transported to a local hospital to be checked out, Keller said.
Due to the extensive damage fire investigators Saturday could not look into the cause of the blaze. Keller said they would return today to begin their investigation.
Standoff ends without injury in West Chatham
A standoff between police and an armed woman in west Chatham County closed traffic on Fort Argyle Road for about 30 minutes Saturday.
The 41-year-old woman, whose name was withheld, barricaded herself in her home off Fort Argyle near Old River Road with a weapon after threatening family members, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.
West Chatham Precinct officers, the SWAT Team and the SCMPD Hostage Negotiation Team surrounded the residence and closed traffic on Fort Argyle until the woman peaceably surrendered. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation, Miller said.
Criminal Investigations Division detectives are continuing to investigate the incident, he added.
Compiled by Corey Dickstein