Cause of JAG Office fire remains unknown

Published 1:05 pm Friday, May 2, 2025

The cause of a fire that destroyed the Judicial Alternatives of Georgia Probation Office in Baldwin County early Friday remains unknown.

The JAG Office was located on Roberson Mill Road across from the bowling alley.

More than 30 firefighters from Baldwin County Fire Rescue and Milledgeville Fire Rescue Services battled intense flames and heavy smoke for nearly three hours before bringing the fire under control.

Firefighters doused hundreds of gallons of water onto the roof of the building from atop a bucket attached to the city fire department’s ladder truck.

Several city and county firefighters stayed on the scene until after 10 a.m.

Baldwin County Fire Rescue Deputy Chief of Operations Bradley Towe and Lt. Jesse Law are working jointly to determine the cause of the blaze.

Towe talked with JAG Office owner Kenneth Knight of Dublin at the scene, as well as Milledgeville JAG Chief Probation Officer Travis Graham outside the ruins of the office building, which had operated there for about 20 years.

Knight told The Union-Recorder at the scene that the fire had disrupted office functions for a while, he hoped to find another office building and become operational again soon.

The office handles misdemeanor court cases in Milledgeville and Baldwin County.

“We didn’t lose anything as far as data goes,” Knight said. “We’re all digital.”

Knight said the office’s security alarm system sounded shortly after 4 a.m.

“I was asleep and didn’t answer, so I immediately called 911 dispatch, and that’s how the fire was discovered,” Graham said.

He got to the scene about 5 a.m.

Officers with Milledgeville Police Department, as well as deputies with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the scene.

City and county firefighters arrived at the scene and worked to save as much of the office building as possible.

Flames quickly spread throughout the building and later made their way through the rooftop.