A Tucker woman's blood alcohol content was .242 — more than three times the legal limit for those driving — the night she died in a house fire with her two daughters, the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner's Office said Tuesday. But nearly five months later, the cause of the fire that quickly engulfed the home has not yet been determined.
Kathy Patterson, 36, and daughters, Madelyn, 9, and Kayla, who turned 12 in January, died Feb. 9 when flames ripped through the family’s two-story home on Pointer Ridge. Patterson’s husband, Brent, made it out of the house, but was unable to return for his wife and daughters.
The day after the fire, Patterson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was the only one downstairs when he heard an odd noise and went to check it out.
“When I opened the front door, the house exploded,” Patterson said.
With a neighbor’s help, Patterson said he broke the glass on a back door, but the heat and flames were too intense. The firefighters that arrived couldn’t go into the home, even knowing there were people still inside.
“I couldn’t get back in,” Patterson said. “It was gone.”
The lone survivor, Patterson also told investigators what happened the night of the fire. But there were inconsistencies in his statements, the fire department and District Attorney said.
There was no obvious evidence of arson or foul play, but both the fire department and Gwinnett District Danny Porter said in the days after the fire that an in-depth investigation would continue. Fire officials initially said the blaze appeared to have started in the area of an electric-powered reclining couch.
The couch was across the wall from the fireplace, which was burning at the time of the blaze, Gwinnett fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said the day after the fire. Within the same room, there were lamps positioned on either side of the couch, Rutledge said. The fire quickly extended to the second floor via a heat return vent and a mechanical/HVAC closet, Rutledge said in an emailed statement.
Autopsies conducted in February on Kayla and her daughters determined all three died from smoke and soot inhalation, the Medical Examiner’s Office previously said. Toxicology tests revealed the alcohol in Kathy Patterson’s system, but nothing suspicious, Eric Bailey, chief investigator in the case, said Tuesday.
“There’s nothing to suggest the fire was intentionally started,” Bailey said.
A fire department spokesman said Tuesday the department’s investigation has not been completed. Porter said he’s awaiting the fire department’s findings before deciding whether to pursue the case further.
“The ME’s decision is not binding on my decision,” Porter said in an email Tuesday.
The day after the fire, neighbors and friend grieved the loss of a mother and her two daughters who typically sat in the first or second row at Tucker First United Methodist Church.
A ballet dancer, Patterson performed for the congregation a few times a year, including most recently at Christmas. With her long arms and legs, and softly flowing ensembles, Patterson looked like an angel when she danced, and her daughters were smaller images of her, a church member said.
Neighbors also spoke fondly of the Patterson family, whose two girls were often playing outside.
“They were the heart of the neighborhood,” Evelyn Vega said. “They surely will be missed. They were just an example of love.”
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