Christmas house fire kills 17-year-old boy, grandfather in Ga.

The Office of Insurance and Safety Fire said a 17-year-old boy and his 78-year-old grandfather died in a house fire Christmas morning. Other family members were injured and transported to a burn center.

Credit: Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner

Credit: Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner

The Office of Insurance and Safety Fire said a 17-year-old boy and his 78-year-old grandfather died in a house fire Christmas morning. Other family members were injured and transported to a burn center.

A house fire on Christmas morning has left a Warren County family without a grandfather and grandson.

Robert Franklin, 78, along with his grandson Bob Frails, 17, died in the fire, according to the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner’s Office. Other family members were injured.

The fire started about 5 a.m. in Warrenton, about 35 miles west of Augusta.

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Franklin’s 75-year-old wife Toni Franklin and another grandson, age 14, were taken to the Augusta Burn Center.

Deputy Insurance and Fire Commissioner Jay Florence said an initial investigation shows the blaze might have been caused by a space heater or kerosene.

According to a National Fire Protection Association study published in March 2016, space heaters accounts for 40 percent of home heating deaths between 2009 and 2013.

The deaths bring Georgia’s 2017 fire fatalities totals to 114, authorities said.

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