A fire that heavily damaged a Gwinnett County home early Friday apparently started near a camper parked next to the house, authorities said.

The RV and two motorcycles at the home on Merrimac Way near Lawrenceville were also engulfed in flames, Gwinnett fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said.

He said fire crews arrived six minutes after the blaze was reported and found heavy fire burning through the roof of the single-story, wood frame house.

Firefighters were able to contain the bulk of the fire damage to the attic and roof on one corner of the house, while there was water and smoke damage throughout the structure, Rutledge said.

The husband and wife who live in the home were able to escape uninjured.

Rutledge said that the man was on the computer when he noticed an orange glow coming from outside. After getting his wife out and calling 911, the man "tried to knock back the flames with a garden hose until fire trucks arrived," Rutledge said.

He said the fire appeared to have started in the area of the RV and quickly spread to the exterior wall and into the attic of the house. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

About the Author

Featured

The renovation of Jekyll Island's Great Dunes golf course includes nine holes designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s for the members of the Jekyll Island Club. Several holes that were part of the original layout where located along the beach and were bulldozed in the 1950s.(Photo by Austin Kaseman)

Credit: Photo by Austin Kaseman