By: Marcus E. Howard / The Brunswick News

December 28, 2005

Neighbors glad they are safe

Rufus Johnson remembers being awakened in the early hours of the morning to shouts outside his house and then seeing the smoke and fire.

It was after 4:30 a.m. Monday, just hours after Christmas Day, and Johnson and other residents of a north Brunswick neighborhood found themselves and their possessions in danger of burning. A house nearby was engulfed in flames.

A warning shouted by an unknown man outside the residence may have saved Johnson's life and that of his wife, Sheree Auston.

"If is wasn't for that guy we would have gotten burned up," said Johnson, thinking back on what could have been, but didn't happen. "He told us to get out of the house."

Auston remembers what they saw when they stepped outdoors.

"I just saw a bunch of smoke and fire coming from over there," she said Tuesday afternoon, pointing toward the now gutted vacant house at 2600 Stonewall St.

She and her husband live at 2609 Lee St., behind the vacant home that fire officials estimate was a $25,000 loss.

After fleeing their home, Johnson said he wasted no time taking matters into his own hands. He grabbed a garden hose and went to work.

"I took a water hose to save my spot," said Johnson.

He wasn't the only one leaving nothing to chance. With strong, gusty winds putting rows of nearby single-story, wood-frame homes in jeopardy, the Brunswick Fire Department decided to call for reinforcements. The firefighters, concerned that flames might spread to other structures, summoned the Glynn County Fire Department and Brunswick police.

County firefighters provided backup and police were there to evacuate the neighborhood, should the need have arisen.

"By the time I arrived on the scene, the men were cold and tired," said Brunswick Fire Marshall Derek Lazzara.

Although the fire was brought under control within 25 minutes, it took nearly three and a half hours to put it out completely because of the extent of the burning, fire officials said.

The fire destroyed the house on Stonewall Street, leaving only the barely identifiable blackened and charred remains of furniture, household items and interior wall studs. It caused damage estimated at $2,000 to a house next door on Stonewall Street and about $5,000 in damage to the Church of Christ building to the south of the house, including shingle and window damage.

The Johnson-Auston house was not damaged. "We were lucky," said a relieved Johnson.

Cause of the fire is still under investigation.