Update: June House Fire Ruled Arson

Updated July 24:

Gwinnett County arson investigators now are ruling a house fire in unincorporated Stone Mountain as an arson.

And, after many hours "investigators painstakingly reviewed the information found at the scene, the neighborhood and surrounding area and determined that the fire was suspicious in nature," said Lt. Colin Rhoden, in a press release.

The "unusual" spread of the fire and the amount of destruction led arson investigators to bring on special, fire K-9s to assist with determining the cause, Rhoden added.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact the Gwinnett Fire Arson and Explosives Investigation Section at 678-518-4890 or the Georgia Arson Control Hotline at 1-800-282-5804. 

Georgia Arson Control, Inc. offers a reward of UP TO $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for arson.

Here is the original story:

Fire investigators have requested the use of an arson K9 from the state to help determine the cause of a fire Friday morning in the 5100 block of Vivid Dr. on the Gwinnett County side of Stone Mountain.

Investigators made the request due to the amount of destruction in the home from the blaze, according to a press release from public information officer Lt. Colin S. Rhoden. They are also looking into information reported by the neighbors.

When crews first arrived, there was heavy smoke and fire coming from the eaves, Rhoden said.

There were initial reports that there was a female resident in the home at the time of the fire, but after a thorough search by fire crews, she was not found there. She later to the scene and spoke with firefighters.

Crews, which faced some heavy wood ceilings while fighting the blaze, saved the structure by extinguishing the fire and slowing damage to other areas, Rhoden said.