Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

Authorities investigating house fire that killed Spalding County woman

A fatal fire occurred at this house on Kennedy Drive in Griffin on Wed., April 13, 2016. (Credit: Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s Office)
A fatal fire occurred at this house on Kennedy Drive in Griffin on Wed., April 13, 2016. (Credit: Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s Office)
By Steve Burns
April 14, 2016

State investigators are looking into a house fire in Spalding County that killed a woman and injured her husband Wednesday night.

The fire occurred about 11 p.m. at a home in the 1500 block of Kennedy Drive in Griffin, said Glenn Allen, the spokesman for the Georgia insurance commissioner’s office.

Terrie Polk, 37, was killed in the fire, which started in the house’s master bedroom. Her husband, Jonathan Polk, 35, escaped with injuries after attempting to put out the fire, Allen said.

State fire investigators are working with the Spalding sheriff’s office and fire department to determine the exact cause of the blaze.

Polk is the 48th person to die from a fire in Georgia in 2016, Allen said.

About the Author

Steve Burns
More Stories

Keep Reading

Amber Hicks’ father, Mark Boggs (center), hugs Hicks’ cousin Kirstyn Bauer upon hearing the life sentence for Matthew Lanz on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. Lanz was convicted a day earlier in the 2021 killings of Hicks and her husband, Justin, in their Acworth home. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Man sentenced to life in slayings of Cherokee firefighter, wife

The deaths of Amber and Justin Hicks shocked their family and community. On Friday, Matthew Lanz was sentenced to life in prison.

CobbLinc first public transit agency to deploy AV tech with Cumberland shuttle

8 driverless shuttles on a roughly 3-mile route will connect key landmarks, including Truist Park and The Battery, Cumberland Mall and the Chattahoochee River Recreation Area

‘I hope we don’t die’: Kids recount elevator rescue, reunite with firefighters

After being trapped for hours in an Atlanta high-rise elevator, two children were rescued by firefighters who rappelled down a blind shaft during frigid weather.

The Latest

The longer you look at a Minnie Evans work, the more you believe she was definitely connected to something divine.

Credit: AJ Willingham/AJC

Sweet Tea: A world of magic

Man sentenced to life in slayings of Cherokee firefighter, wife

CobbLinc first public transit agency to deploy AV tech with Cumberland shuttle

Featured

Tracy Woodard from InTown Cares (left) and Lauren Hopper from Mercy Care organization work with residents at the Copperton Street encampment in August 2024. (Miguel Martinez / AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez

‘Worst nightmares come true.’ Atlanta confronts shift in homelessness funding.

Trump’s overhaul threatens permanent housing for an estimated 600 Atlanta households and 170,000 people nationwide, advocates warn.

Microsoft’s newest AI ‘superfactory’ opens at sprawling Fayetteville campus

One of the largest data center campuses under construction in Georgia has its first operational tenant, and it’s one of the most recognizable names in technology.

Atlanta officials quietly rebrand city’s DEI office

The city of Atlanta office overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion is getting a rebrand amid assaults at the federal level on such initiatives.