She hadn’t wanted her boyfriend to spend the night at the Andrews Street home because she didn’t think it was safe. Michelle Ferguson had a bad feeling, but Anthony Jones said he’d be fine.
Jones, 49, planned to spend Sunday night at Ernest Eberhardt's home, and he'd already paid a friend to fix his van first thing Monday morning. But Jones never made it out of the house again. He and five others died early Monday when fire ignited and quickly spread through the northwest Atlanta home.
“Me knowing my Tony, Tony tried to get out,” Ferguson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. “But he couldn’t.”
When she couldn't reach him by phone for several hours Monday, Ferguson rode to the Andrews Street home with family members. She ran from the SUV to the charred remains of the residence and was inconsolable as she stood by the curb.
Ferguson said she spent Monday night outside on Andrews Street, staring at the gutted house where her boyfriend died.
“I couldn’t see myself walking away,” Ferguson said. “His spirit was still there.”
In addition to Eberhardt and Jones, four others died, including Gene Spurley, 62, Anthony Brown, 54, and Velma Rivers, 46, the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office said. A second woman also died, but her name was not released early Wednesday pending notification of family members.
Investigators had not yet determined Tuesday what caused the fire and declined to speculate. Neighbors and friends, however, wondered whether the fire could have been prevented had there been a smoke detector and working heat, so that space heaters would not have been needed.
Eberhardt knew his home needed repairs and upkeep, but he just didn’t have the money. And according to his neighbors and friends, he wasn’t worried about it.
“It’ll take care of itself,” the 61-year-old would say.
Instead, Eberhardt focused on helping others, offering them a place to sleep or a ride to work. He didn’t ask for anything in exchange, and those he helped didn’t have much anyway. But a few dollars here and there kept gas in his van and the lights on in the Andrews Street house.
Eberhardt’s house was the one people in the community went to when they needed a place to stay for the night, neighbors said. Some stayed for weeks at a time. Others, like Ferguson, just stayed for a night.
The house had front and side doors, but the back door was blocked and not accessible, neighbors said. Investigators told Ferguson that Jones was found in the kitchen. He was likely overcome by the thick smoke, Ferguson said.
Michael Braxton, a childhood friend of Jones, said he believes that by the time those inside realized there was a fire, it was too late.
“Whatever happened, it happened quick,” Braxton said. “It’s an old house.”
Jones, Braxton said, was a New York native who just got his license to work as a barber. He devoted time to teaching kids at his church to stay out of trouble. In addition to his girlfriend of nearly four years, Jones is also survived by his mother and two daughters. His funeral will be held in New York, but arrangements had not been made late Tuesday.
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