MECHANICSVILLE, Ga. — An early morning fire destroyed a house in the Mechanicsville neighborhood near downtown Atlanta.
At first, firefighters thought one or more victims were trapped inside, but everyone made it out.
Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach was on Garibaldi Street, where he learned the homeowner was taken into custody for his own safety.
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Neighbors spoke to Gehlbach and said they believed he’d set his own house on fire, because it’s not the first time in just the last couple of weeks.
When fire crews arrived Monday morning, flames were shooting out from the porch and the entire front of the house on Garibaldi was aflame.
Neighbors who took video of the fire as crews from the Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department told Channel 2 Action News they were worried about the owner.
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Dr. David Holder, a neighbor, said he woke up and looked outside around 6 a.m., only to see flames.
“I just saw this bright orange amber and jumped up like it was a bad dream and the house was fully engulfed and I called 911,” Holder said. “He may still be in there.”
The homeowner did make it out, but neighbors said he was telling fire crews his wife was trapped inside, which wasn’t true.
“That’s what he was telling ‘em, but we told them he had some mental illness issues,” another neighbor, Octavious Terry, said.
Over the last few years, they said the man has had multiple episodes and they’ve called multiple times, including recently when a fire started on the back porch.
The man’s neighbors said they were thankful that no one was hurt and that firefighters were there in minutes. They said the recent fires in California had made them scared.
“Just knowing what had happened in LA, how quickly can a housefire spread?” Terry said.
Atlanta fire investigators are now looking into the cause of the fire and according to police, the homeowner was not arrested or charged, but was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for a mental health crisis evaluation.
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