Bonner and Bernard Ziglor hoped to spend Christmas with their grandmother at the house on Janet Lane where they grew up.
Instead, the brothers stood outside the smoldering brick home Tuesday morning and watched as DeKalb County firefighters came and went, attempting to rescue all 10 people trapped inside. Four were found dead, and a fifth died at a hospital.
They were identified by family as Terryona Regular, her two daughters 6-year-old Aaliyah and 3-year-old Angel, and her uncles Pedro Coney and Timothy Regular. Three others, including the Ziglors’ grandmother, were injured. Only two people escaped unharmed.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
“It’s tragic. Sad,” Bonner Ziglor said from outside his childhood home. “We’re trying to make it through.”
The fire broke out around 12:20 a.m. According to a DeKalb fire spokesman, the first crews to arrive in the neighborhood off Glenwood Road did not know there were people trapped by the flames. The home was nearly fully engulfed, and they had to act fast.
Firefighters used a vent-enter-search strategy to quickly perform a preliminary search as other crew members established a water supply, fire Capt. Jaeson Daniels said. Ultimately, they were unable to save everyone.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
“The holidays are coming up, and when you talk about people losing their lives, it feels different this time of year,” Daniels said. “It’s tough for the guys. Unfortunately, it’s something we deal with pretty regularly, but we are all human.”
A family member called the Ziglor brothers early Tuesday morning, and they rushed to their grandmother’s house. The brothers said firefighters did everything they could.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Bernard Ziglor, 18, said he always thought of becoming a firefighter or police officer one day. He wished he could have done something as he watched the house burn. His brother, a professional photographer, snapped photos of the fire damage, the last images of a home that holds so many of their memories.
“This is my family,” Bernard Ziglor said. “I don’t want to see nothing wrong happen to my family, and if I can do anything to help, I would like to.”
Investigators do not know what started the fire, and it was not clear if the home had a working smoke detector. Teams of firefighters went door to door Tuesday afternoon to install detectors in neighboring homes.
At a news conference from the fire scene, DeKalb fire Chief Darnell Fullum said his crews have already worked 29 fires this month, and 11 since Friday. Most home fires are started by unattended cooking, heating equipment or electrical malfunctions and can be prevented, he said.
Fifty percent of fire deaths occur between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when victims are sleeping.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
“The No. 1 defense from a fire that occurs in your home will be an operating smoke alarm,” Fullum said, calling the device “a lifesaver.”
The chief said the Ziglors’ grandmother was the only victim still being treated at a hospital. She suffered second- and third-degree burns.
A GoFundMe account was set up to help the family with expenses.
“We’re going to love on them,” Fullum said of the woman’s family, particularly the Ziglor brothers. “We’re going to be here for the family.”
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
About the Author
