Crime & Safety

Early Morning Fire Guts House on Daniels Bridge Road

No one was home at the time and the garage was saved, Oconee County Fire Chief Bruce Thaxton says. It's the second time firefighters have battled a blaze at the house.

An Oconee County house that burned on Christmas Day five years ago caught  fire Saturday morning, authorities said.

Firefighters rushed to the scene at 1160 Daniels Bridge Road just before 6:30 a.m. Saturday to find heavy smoke billowing and fire venting from rear of house, Fire Chief Bruce Thaxton said. No one was home at the time. 

Stations 1 and 8 responded with two Engines, Ladder 1, two Rescue Trucks, Air Trailer, Squad 1, and a Command vehicle along with 24 firefighters, he reported. National EMS also stood by.

Find out what's happening in Oconeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The road was shut down for two hours in order for firefighters to access a fire hydrant across the street.

The house is still standing, but the inside is gutted, Thaxton said. The garage was saved.  The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but he said the State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating.

Find out what's happening in Oconeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Thaxton said house belongs to Jeffrey Allen Bishop, and it's not the first time it burned.   

On Christmas Day in 2006, fire that originated in the bedroom caused extensive structural damage throughout the house, Thaxton told the Athens Banner-Herald at the time.

Thaxton said Saturday he was unable to recall the cause of that fire and he would check into it.

Bishop has had trouble with the law in the past.

In 2008, Oconee County Sheriff's deputies raided his home and found what they described to the Athens Banner-Herald as a small-scale meth lab for personal use. Bishop, 54, was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine. According to a Georgia database, Bishop was paroled in April 2011 after having been convicted and jailed for possession.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Oconee