The Wednesday fire at 724 McLaurin St., which is estimated to have caused $75,000 worth of damage to the two-story residence, is now said to have been arson.

“The cause of the fire was incendiary, which means it was a deliberately set fire,” said Griffin Fire Marshal Mitchell Cardell. “This determination was made based on physical evidence found on the fire scene and the burn patterns that were left as a result of the fire.”

The fire was reported to Spalding County 911 at 12:25 p.m. and Griffin Fire-Rescue C-shift Battalion Chief Rick Rickerson first arrived at the scene at 12:28 p.m.

“We had heavy fire in a bedroom and bathroom with extension into the dining room. Engine One was the first unit to arrive on scene and we attacked the fire with two attack teams from Station One. We had a team attack through the front door and the second team made simultaneous entry into the attic,” Rickerson said Wednesday. “At the same time the interior attack was being made, we had a search team in who found the residence to be unoccupied.”

Rickerson estimated that it took approximately eight minutes for the fire to be brought under control. At that time, officials began their investigation into the cause of the blaze.

“During the preliminary scene evaluation, it was noted that there was no electrical service to the residence, thus eliminating that as a possible cause of the fire,” Cardell said. “During the interior examination, irregular fire patterns were observed. At that point, I made the decision to contact the state fire marshal’s office and requested they respond with an arson detection dog.”

State Fire Marshal Bruce Gourley and his arson dog, Cotton, arrived in Griffin soon thereafter to aid in the investigation.

“During the canine examination, the arson dog responded to multiple spots within the rear bedroom that was determined to be the fire’s point of origin,” Cardell said. “Samples were taken by Andy McNabb from the Griffin Police Department’s Crime Scene Unit which are being sent to the GBI crime lab.”

As part of the ongoing investigation, Cardell is now seeking the public’s assistance.

“I’m requesting that anyone in the vicinity of 724 McLaurin St. during the 24-hour period preceding the fire, which would be around noon Tuesday, to contact my office at 770-229-6415 if you feel you have information that may be helpful to this investigation,” Cardell said.

Anyone providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspected arsonist in this incident may also be eligible for a reward of up to $10,000, Cardell said. Information in the case may also be given by calling the Georgia Arson Hotline at 800-282-5804.