CLEVELAND - Smoke coming from the Charles Smithgall Humane Society and Adoption Center in White County caused a scare Wednesday night.
Neighbors called 9-1-1 around 7 p.m. after seeing dark smoke rising at the back of the building, located between Cleveland and Helen.
A Helen fire unit was the first unit to arrive and discovered the smoke was coming from an animal crematory located behind the main facility.
Center officials arrived and said a new gas regulator had been installed and the fire was burning much higher than normal. In fact, flames were coming out of the top of the crematory smoke stack.
Fire officials on scene advised shelter officials the crematory was too close to a stand of pine trees that could easily catch on fire and there were numerous pet crates stacked next to the crematory, said to be burning at more than 1,300 degrees.
Shelter officials said they would be addressing the issues Thursday.
The animal shelter is a no kill shelter, and officials stressed they were cremating a pet for an individual Wednesday night.
