Rosana Hughes, John Spink
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)
Two bodies were found in the ruins of a South Fulton home that burned Wednesday morning and two more residents remain unaccounted for, officials said.
Five people were taken to the hospital in the immediate aftermath of the fire, and the two bodies were located more than 12 hours later, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Multiple serious fires have broken out this week in metro Atlanta amid the coldest weather the area has seen since March.
South Fulton crews were dispatched to the two-story home in the 7200 block of Oswego Trail shortly before 5 a.m. and reported multiple people were trapped inside, the fire department said. Those who were taken to the hospital were said to be stable, department spokesperson Lt. Eric Jackson told reporters.
The two bodies recovered Wednesday evening have not been identified, but officials told Channel 2 they were both adults. A mother and a child remain missing, and fire crews planned to search for them until dark, according to the news station.
Crews were initially unable to enter the home due to the structure being unstable, Jackson said.
The house was fully engulfed by the time firefighters arrived a few minutes after the 911 call came in, he said. They had to attack the blaze from the outside as the roof began to cave in and its floors and stairwell collapsed.
Family member Tyrone Oliver feared the worst for his loved ones. He said at least seven people lived in the house, including his child and the child’s mother, and several of them were home when the fire broke out.
“I’m traumatized. I’m stunned. I don’t know what to say,” he told reporters at the scene. He was concerned that a faulty electrical outlet was to blame.
Jackson could not confirm what caused the fire, as it remains under investigation.
A tearful neighbor, Leonard Varnes, said his alarm clock had just gone off at 5 a.m. when he heard the fire truck sirens approaching.
“When I went to the door, it was just lit up,” he recalled. “I said, ‘Oh, my God,’ and I ran out.”
A little girl who lives in the destroyed house was just playing with Varnes’ son the day before, he said.
“Every day, he goes over there and gets ‘em as soon as he gets home,” he said, his voice full of emotion.
It was the third large fire crews have had to battle in the Atlanta area this week, all three taking place on the coldest nights of the season so far.
On Monday, two fires broke out at vacant buildings in Midtown and Peoplestown. While both remain under investigation, people seeking warmth were suspected to have caused both, according to Atlanta fire officials. No injuries were reported in either fire, but thousands of residents were left without power in Midtown.
While the cause of Wednesday’s fire is not yet known, Jackson took the opportunity to remind the public to be more aware of fire safety as winter quickly approaches and more people need to heat their homes. It’s important to leave a three-foot perimeter around space heaters and have a working smoke alarm, fire extinguisher and an emergency exit plan, he said.
“This in no way means or form is directly associated with this fire, but just in general ... All of those things should be certainly taken into consideration,” he said. “Even if this hadn’t happened, we’d still be putting this message out. We have been putting this messaging out.”
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