Glynn County firefighters are investigating a fire that gutted a three-story house on St. Simons Island on Friday night.  Firefighters were unable to reach the beach side of the house at 700 Beachview Drive because it was high tide. (Krista Harris / The Brunswick News)

Glynn County firefighters are investigating a fire that gutted a three-story house on St. Simons Island on Friday night.

Firefighters were unable to reach the beach side of the house at 700 Beachview Drive, where the fi re had started, because it was high tide, said Glynn County Deputy Fire Chief Harold Herndon.

When firefighters arrived at about 9:40 p.m., the first two floors of the house were engulfed in flames, Herndon said.

He said the home is a complete loss, with damage estimated at $2.4 million.

“It’s the largest fi re we’ve had this year so far,” Herndon said.  “We had 53 personnel on the scene.”

He said two firefighters suffered minor injuries – one from an elbow wound and the other from heat exhaustion.

Fire inspectors with the county were on the scene Monday investigating the fire.

Jim Satterfield, owner of the house, had rented the residence to a wedding party for the weekend, according to a Glynn County police report.

The only witness to the incident, a babysitter hired by the groom’s parents, told police she saw flames from the lower-level back patio when she went downstairs.

She ran upstairs to get the baby in her care and left the residence, she told police.