‘Suspicious’ fire guts Snellville house

Investigators are calling an early-morning fire that destroyed a Snellville house “suspicious.”

The blaze broke out shortly after 3 a.m. in a two-story, wood frame house in the 4600 block of Beau Point Court.

“We have not labeled the fire arson, but at this point we are calling the circumstances surrounding the blaze suspicious,” said Capt. Tommy Rutledge, spokesman for the Gwinnett Fire Department.

The fire burned the roof off and caused heavy structural damage. Three neighboring houses sustained cosmetic damage due to the radiant heat.

It took firefighters 33 minutes to put out the blaze.

No one was home when firefighters arrived, and investigators have not yet been able to talk to the occupants.

Investigators spent much of the morning sifting through debris and talking to neighbors.