Man claims Mauriceville home set on fire

Published 1:56 pm Tuesday, May 14, 2019

From staff reports

A man and three cats safely escaped from a Mauriceville fire on Saturday, while a fourth cat remained trapped inside just as heavy rains moved through the area.
The home owner was on the scene screaming a person with a hoodie set the house on fire.

He later claimed he was not home when the fire started.

OCESD 4 received the call about the structure fire Saturday around 12:30 p.m. in the 8400 block of State Highway 12 in Mauriceville.
Upon arrival on scene, firefighters found a single store structure fully involved with heavy smoke and flames pouring out of the east side of the structure. Despite the heavy rains firefighters worked very hard to extinguish the blaze.
OCESD 3 Firefighter Tara Manshack said, “I found out about the trapped kitten and was determined to find and rescued it within a matter of minutes,”

Manshack found the kitten hidden near the back of the home and brought it out to safety.
No injuries were reported from the blaze and the home appears to be a total lost.
OCESD 4 received mutual aid from OCESD 1, 2, 3, and South Newton County ESD 1 with the blaze.