Five people, including four children, were killed overnight when a fire tore through a DeKalb County home, officials said.
Crews responded to the brick home on Del Rio Terrace near Covington Highway about 12:40 a.m. Saturday, DeKalb fire spokesman Capt. Dion Bentley said. When firefighters entered the house they discovered the bodies of the woman and children in a front bedroom.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Investigators believe all four children killed were younger than 5 years old, Bentley said, calling the incident tragic. Nobody inside the home made it out alive, he said. The house wasn’t completely destroyed in the blaze, and investigators believe all five victims died of smoke inhalation.
“The home actually wasn’t that badly damaged,” Bentley said. “It doesn’t look like they were burned. It looks like it was the smoke.”
The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials said they have no reason to suspect foul play. It wasn’t immediately clear Saturday who called 911 to report the blaze.
Laura Toney walked outside when she heard the commotion and saw her neighbors’ home on fire and full of smoke, she told Channel 2 Action News at the scene.
“You couldn’t really see a lot, but when I came out they were bringing the adult body out,” Toney said. “I told them that there were babies in the house — you know, small kids.”
The family’s dog was also killed in the blaze, Toney told the news station. Channel 2 reported that the woman’s husband also lived at the home they rented, but that he was out of town for work when the fire occurred.
Channel 2 reported that the woman’s husband also lived at the home they rented, but that he was out of town for work when the fire occurred.
The bodies of all five victims were taken to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office. Their names have not been released.
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