A structure fire in Sandersville Tuesday morning led to a heroic act by Sandersville Police Department Officer Tom Hartfield.
According to Dana Bumgardner of the Jones County Fire Council, the Sandersville Volunteer Fire department received a call of a fire in a single wide mobile home at 311 W. Main Street just before 9 a.m.
Officer Hartfield was the first person to arrive and believed there may be residents still in the home.
Officer Hartfield breached the door and was able to determine no one was inside, but he did rescue three cats that were in the smoke-filled home.
Firefighters found flames in the living room and heavy smoke in the home and were able to minimize structural fire damage.
Four people lived in the home, including Nancy Waites, her mother-in-law, and two children.
All four of the residents were headed out of town for Thanksgiving with extended family and had left the home minutes before the fire en route to Alabama.
Per Bumgardner, the home sustained significant cosmetic damage but remains structurally intact and Rustin and Sharon Volunteer Fire Departments also helped during the incident.
One firefighter sustained minor injuries but was treated at the scene without transport to the emergency department. No other injuries were reported.
Bumgardner also noted that the fire is suspicious in nature and will be investigated by the Jones County Sheriff's Department.