The blaze early Sunday killed John and Peggy Eaves, both 68, who had lived in the home about 40 years, and their 37-year-old son, Kelly, said Charlotte Fire Capt. Rob Brisley. In 1995, three young boys died in a house fire in Charlotte.
A second-shift worker driving home early Sunday saw the flames at the brick home. The man pulled over and started banging on the door and yelling, according to a neighbor. He tried to force the door open, but it was too hot, a neighbor said the man told her.
The man then awoke her and she called 911 at 3:43 a.m. Sunday. By the time firefighters arrived four minutes later, flames were shooting through a front window, Brisley said.
``When we came out and saw the flames through the roof, we were just hoping no one was home,'' said Sandra Hancock, who had lived next door to the Eaveses for nine years. ``Then we saw them being carried out, and I knew it was bad. It seemed like they were giving CPR for a long time.''
The victims were pronounced dead at area hospitals.
It's unclear whether the house had a working smoke alarm. Firefighters did not hear one when they arrived, Brisley said, but it may have been damaged by the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said it did not appear to be foul play.
Information from: The Charlotte Observer
