Police arrested a Powder Springs man Friday after investigators determined he set fire to an outbuilding while a woman was asleep inside, forcing her to break through a wall to escape with her dog.
Cobb Fire crews were called to the property on Hiram-Lithia Springs Road around 3:30 a.m. when the structure behind a home went up in flames. Inside was Amber Echols, who said the sound of an explosion jolted her awake and left her trapped as fire blocked her path to the door.
Arson investigators later determined the fire had been started with an accelerant. Police arrested 41-year-old Paul Dodd later that day. He is charged with arson and aggravated assault and is being held without bond at the Cobb County jail.
“The wall separated in the corner by my bed and i maybe had 30 seconds to get out,” Echols said.
Echols, who had been staying in the outbuilding on a friend’s property, pushed her way through the back wall before the flames overtook the room. She and her dog, Ezzy, made it out safely.
Echols said she has met Dodd only a handful of times, describing him as a friend of a friend.
While the blaze destroyed everything she owned, Echols said she is grateful the fire did not spread to the house or other buildings.
“There was definitely somebody watching out for me because I don’t know how I did it. I don’t know how I got out. It was God,” she said.
Authorities have not said what may have motivated the fire.
