UPDATE Monday, Jan. 30: A suspect is facing several charges tied to a recent house fire in a north Forsyth County neighborhood.

FCSO officials said Nicholas Robert Murray, 45, has been charged with three counts of terroristic threats, two counts of cruelty to animals and one count each of arson and criminal damage to property tied to a fire at his home on Wimberly Way in the Haddon Hall subdivision off Hwy. 369 in north Forsyth County on Friday, Jan. 27.

Authorities said the fire began after a domestic incident and no one was injured in the fire.

Original story below

A recent north Forsyth house fire began as part of a domestic incident, according to officials with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and Forsyth County Fire Department.

FCSO officials said the incident occurred the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 27 on Wimberly Way in the Haddon Hall subdivision off Hwy. 369 in north Forsyth County and began with a domestic incident before the suspect set the house on fire and initially refused to come out.

Victims were able to escape the home before the fire, and the suspect, whose name is not available as of press time, later exited the home and was arrested without incident, officials said.

As deputies responded to the incident, the sheriff’s office advised neighbors to stay in their homes before the suspect was arrested and the road reopened at about 5 p.m. on Friday. 

FCFD Div. Chief Jason Shivers said the call “started as a law enforcement matter, then due to the incident, it transitioned into a structure fire, which then, obviously, initiated a full-alarm assignment from us.”

Once firefighters reached the scene, Shivers said they were not able to get to the home for some time due to safety concerns from the incident.

Shivers said firefighters were able to contain the fire and there were no injuries to firefighters or civilians from the fire. He said the home was not a total loss but there was “some significant interior damage.”

Several animals were in the home at the time of the fire, Shivers said, and a dog and fish tank were saved while a pet rodent was not expected to survive injuries.

Shivers said the dog had been taken to a local veterinarian and “seems in fine shape.”

He said the incent will continue to be examined by the sheriff’s office and fire department as “both agencies are going to be involved and have components of the investigation."