Investigators: Woman started massive Paulding fire after losing home in divorce

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — State fire investigators said a Paulding County woman set her house on fire, causing the flames to spread to 19 other houses, including Auzalea Godfrey's.

Godfrey, a neighbor in the Greystone Subdivision, said she could not believe it.

"This is a person who I saw and said 'Good morning' to and 'How you doing?'" Godfrey said. "When she was going through hard times, I fed her and I even prayed with her."

TRENDING STORIES:

Paulding County Fire officials told Channel 2 Action News that Adrienne Satterly, 41, of Hiram, was going through a divorce. They said she lost the home to her ex, and she decided to torch it, using items available to her around 3:25 a.m. Sunday morning.

"She stacked a pile of mattresses in the kitchen area of her home on Rosemont Court," said Georgia Deputy Fire Commissioner Jay Florence. "We believe she lit them on fire. She put not only herself but her neighbors and first responders in jeopardy."

Satterly left the house with her two cats, walked to Walmart and called 911, fire officials said. She now faces 14 counts of first-degree arson and three counts of aggravated animal cruelty.

Firefighters say the fire destroyed four homes and damaged 16 other homes that suffered varying degrees of heat and smoke damage, firefighters said.

Neighbors told Channel 2's Sophia Choi about how they ran out of their homes with almost nothing but their lives.

“I lost my two dogs, which is the hardest thing because material things can be replaced. But my dogs are my ... that breaks my heart,” Godfrey said.

Neighbors said they got no warning and woke up in a panic to the flames and smoke.

Shemiah Hedgebath, another resident in the neighborhood, said the flames were like something out of a horror movie.

"I heard like a big boom," Hedgebeth said. "I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, what is this big boom, what is this big boom?' When I came out, this whole side was just up in flames."

Satterly is now in the Paulding County Jail, where she is being held without bond. She also faces one count of public drunkenness.

Cox Media Group