A man was found dead inside a DeKalb County apartment complex after firefighters extinguished a suspicious blaze Friday morning, officials said.
Firefighters were called to Creekside Corners near Lithonia around 5:20 a.m., DeKalb fire spokesman Capt. Jaeson Daniels said. When they arrived, a resident told them that someone was still inside one of the apartments. Crews quickly extinguished the flames before beginning their search.
Most residents were able to escape the complex, but firefighters searching the building found a man dead, Daniels said.
WATCH: BREAKING - 1 dead in #DeKalb apartment fire - https://t.co/1lDxQYCHV9 #Lithonia pic.twitter.com/soUtfvvqCa
— John Spink (@johnjspink) January 27, 2023
Initial calls reported the possibility of a child being trapped in the fire, but the child and mother were able to escape the apartment, according to Daniels.
The fire was contained to a single unit and appeared to start in either the kitchen or the living room, Daniels said. Firefighters were able to save the rest of the building.
Demetrius Smith, who told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she is the grandmother of the child who escaped the burning apartment, said the fire may have been set intentionally. Smith went to the scene after her daughter called her while she was on a break at work.
“She called me and told me that her child’s father tried to kill her and the baby,” Smith said. “He set the kitchen on fire with grease and then tried to keep them from leaving the apartment.”
WATCH: Grandmother shaken after daughter and child escape flames - 1 dead in #DeKalb apartment fire - https://t.co/1lDxQYCHV9 #Lithonia pic.twitter.com/B64yhGpJZ5
— John Spink (@johnjspink) January 27, 2023
Smith said that after her daughter escaped, she tried to convince the man to leave the apartment, but he turned back inside and was on fire.
“He had issues anyway, but not to this extent where I think he would kill himself or harm her or his child,” Smith said.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
It was the second fire of a busy morning for DeKalb firefighters. Around 1:30 a.m., crews were called to a blaze at Power Of Faith Family Worship on Columbia Drive near Decatur.
Crews found smoke and flames coming from the rear of the church, according to Daniels. The fire was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported, he added.
Investigations into both fires are ongoing.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
