No injuries were reported Thursday in a predawn fire that damaged a northeast Atlanta cottage and shut down a major route into Midtown for most of the morning commute.
The fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. in the one-story, wood frame home in the 1700 block of Monroe Drive at Montgomery Ferry Drive, near Ansley Mall.
Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Richard Heard said arriving firefighters found a “heavy volume of fire” on one side of the structure.
He said the small house was vacant and under renovation.
“They were doing some touch-up work to make it more habitable,” Heard said.
Joe Harrison, the owner of the property, said the cottage, which is behind a larger home on the lot, was built in 1948.
“The good news is, nobody lived there,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Harrison said the main house, which is divided into apartments that are occupied, was unaffected by the blaze.
“Thank goodness,” he said. “It’s fine.”
Monroe Drive remained closed in both directions at 8 a.m.
Mark Arum in the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center suggested that commuters use Cheshire Bridge Road as an alternate route into Midtown.
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