Fire chief: 12-year-old injured in Cartersville blaze ‘doing much better’
A 12-year-old boy and a Bartow County firefighter who were both injured in a house fire Thursday night are on the mend, officials said.
The boy, Keystin Neal, was rescued after he became trapped in his home on Gilreath Road. He was flown to Grady Memorial Hospital from the scene in Cartersville, Bartow fire Chief Dwayne Jamison told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
One firefighter who helped with the rescue was taken to a hospital in the area. The firefighter has since been released and is doing well, Jamison said Friday, adding that the boy’s condition had also improved.
“The young man is doing much better according to his mother,” Jamison said.
Neal’s parents and siblings were at the park Thursday evening when a neighbor saw smoke coming from their house and called 911, Channel 2 Action News reported. When Bartow fire crews arrived, they found the home filled with flames. Neal, who was home alone, had become disoriented from the smoke, causing him to get trapped inside, Channel 2 reported.
“He was in the back bedroom and he said when he opened the door, the smoke just hit him,” his mother, Chastity Neal, told the news station. “That’s when he collapsed, I believe.”
The blaze was determined to be accidental, but the exact cause remains unknown, Jamison said.
About the Author
Henri Hollis is a reporter and restaurant critic for the Food & Dining team. Formerly a freelance writer and photographer with a focus on food and restaurants, he joined the AJC full-time in January 2021, first covering breaking news. He is a lifelong Atlantan and a graduate of Georgia Tech.
