fire destroys cars, buildings at tow lot 03.30.22 (GA)

[TowNews]

Mar. 30—MARIETTA — A fire destroyed a handful of small storage buildings and several cars at a towing lot off Dodd Street Tuesday.

 

The Marietta Fire Department responded around 1:45 p.m. to the lot, used by George's Auto & Towing Services, where firefighters found three or four storage buildings ablaze, Marietta Fire Capt. Steve Dau said. The fire spread to about 17 cars on the property. Nobody was injured.

 

The cause of the fire was unclear, and it remains under investigation, Dau said.

 

At around 11 a.m., George Ledet, the proprietor of the towing business, sat in the front seat of his pickup truck and spoke with fire investigators by the smoldering lot.

 

I don't know, I just don't know," Ledet told the MDJ. "All I know is it puts me in a bind. I got to move all that junk, all that stuff's got to be moved."

 

Heaps of discolored metal and charred wooden studs were all that remained of the storage buildings, while several cars had been reduced to burned out shells.

 

Ledet learned about the fire Tuesday morning when the fire department called him, he told the MDJ. He had no idea what caused the fire. The businessman has used the lot for about five years to store cars — some are his own, while others are owned by customers who have nowhere else to store them. He wasn't sure what to do next.

 

"As long as you got God with you, you got nothing to worry about. And God is on my side so he keeps me rolling," Ledet said.

 

Paul Bond is the owner of Max Gain Systems, a fiberglass wholesaler next door. He woke up to 120 Ring security camera notifications about the fire.

 

Bond's business was mostly unharmed, he said, except for some clear plastic panels on the side of the building that melted. He was glad for the fire department's quick response.

 

Ledet's wife, Louella, who helps run the business, stood nearby.

 

"It hurts," she said. "I mean, George didn't deserve this. Honestly, because that man works every day: holidays, birthdays, anniversary. He was always working. ... He don't bother nobody."

 

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