LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A Lawrenceville mansion is in shambles after a fire tore through it Friday morning.
Several people called 911, reporting a fire in a field and at a large house around 8 a.m. along Lebanon Road, according to the fire department. The road runs a short way, roughly parallel, from Sugarloaf Parkway outside Lawrenceville's city limits. There are several large properties along the road.
Fire crews arrived to find a 15,000-square-foot two-story home. There was a heavy fire in the basement of the home that had started to spread to the first and second floors, crews said.
"Firefighters used over a thousand feet of supply hose line from the hydrant on the road to the structure," Gwinnett County fire officials said.
Lawrenceville mansion fire
Crews had to use multiple lines to fight the fire. Firefighters finally entered the home through a second-floor window. After searching, they determined no one was in the home and firefighters were forced out of the house as the conditions worsened, according to the fire department.
Firefighters called for backup through the Gwinnett County Police Department's helicopter to drop water from above. The chopper had to pull water from the lake behind the house and had to make 22 passes before the fire was brought under control, according to fire officials.
The flames were finally brought under control by 9:45 a.m.
Crews determined the home was vacant and no one was hurt. The homeowner arrived after the firefighters.
Now fire authorities are working to determine what sparked the fire.
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