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Woman charged with arson, animal cruelty for fire that damaged 20 homes

At least four homes were completely destroyed.

HIRAM, Ga. — On Tuesday, the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner's Office, the Paulding County Fire Department and Hiram Police confirmed that Adrienne Satterly, 41, has been charged with 14 counts of first-degree arson and three counts of aggravated animal cruelty in connection to Sunday's fires.

Satterly was originally detained on unrelated charges but an investigation by state Arson Investigators and the Hiram PD alleges that Satterly started a fire inside her home on February 18 which ultimately spread to 19 other residences in the subdivision.

"This suspect committed a heinous act that threatened the lives of her neighbors and our first responders," said Deputy Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Jay Florence.

"I commend the efforts of the fire investigators and detectives who worked on this case."

Satterly is currently being held at the Paulding County Jail without bond.

RELATED | Arson ruled as cause in Sunday morning fire that damaged 20 homes

Investigators believe the fire started around 3 a.m. in the kitchen and dining room area inside Satterly's home at 67 Rosemont Court and spread to a dozen others. Four homes were totally destroyed, while two suffered "major damage." An additional 14 other homes had varying degrees of heat and smoke damage.

While no people were killed in the fire, a family told 11Alive their dogs, Nipsy and Nyla, did not make it out alive.

(Photo: Provided)

"By the time we got back, the whole house was engulfed. We couldn't even get back in to get the dogs out," they told 11Alive.

The Paulding County Fire Department said a man removing his family from their home had a minor ankle injury but was able to drive himself to the hospital. No firefighters were hurt.

Paulding County Fire Lt. Steve Mapes said when crews arrived, the fire was "very intense" and took 25 firefighters to extinguish.

"They are vinyl siding houses and it spread very, very fast," he said.

Mapes said he has never seen anything like this before in his years on the job, and said they were very fortunate no one was seriously hurt.

"This was definitely an unusual situation," he said. "We've had multiple houses that have been on fire in the past, but really nothing like this in the last 20 years that I've worked for the department that I can think of. That's not a normal day at the fire department."

As neighbors affected by the fire returned to the scene Monday, they told 11Alive's Neima Abdulahi they are in disbelief that Satterly, someone they considered a friend, could be behind Sunday's destructive fire. Neighbors told 11Alive Satterly has lived in the subdivision for about four years and had just gone through a divorce.

"This is a person that I saw and said good morning to and 'How are your doing?," one neighbor told 11Alive. "When she was going through hard times, I fed her. I even prayed with her, so I'm... I don't know. It's unbelieveable."

Public records paint a different picture, however, as documents show authorities responded to Satterly's home nearly two dozen times in the past year for various calls, including domestic disputes, disagreements with tenants renting a room in her home, thefts from the home and more.

The Red Cross responded to the scene and said the fire displaced around 20 people. The organization said they are providing emergency needs, food, clothing, lodging and replacement medication, and more.

If anyone wishes to assist the victims or donate supplies, they're asked to visit the Hiram Police Department's Facbeook page.

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