3 children die in DeKalb fire

Metro Atlanta

3 children die in DeKalb fire

Three children dies in a Friday morning fire in Stone Mountain

Three children died in a house fire in DeKalb County early Friday morning. A fourth child was hospitalized. Firefighters were called to the fire at 358 Barbashela Drive in Stone Mountain just after midnight. Officials did not speculate on what may have caused the fire.

Four children, ranging in age from 6 to 13, were asleep in upstairs bedrooms of a split-level house on Barbashela Drive when the blaze broke out around midnight, DeKalb fire Capt. Eric Jackson said. Only one survived, Jackson said, by jumping from an upstairs window and dropping 15 to 20 feet to the ground.

An upstairs window reveals smoke and fire damage.

Tranetra Stokes, 6, died as a result of the fire.

Shantia Stokes, 10, died due to injuries suffered in the fire.

Topeka Smith, 13, died because of injuries suffered in the fire.

Tameria Stokes, 12, was injured but survived the fire by leaping from an upstairs window.

A DeKalb County Fire investigator examines the front doorway of the burned home early Friday morning. A fire department spokesman said investigators don't yet know if space heaters or other attempts to stay warm sparked the deadly blaze.

DeKalb firefighters roll up hoses early Friday morning after three children died and a fourth child was injured jumping from a burning home in south DeKalb County.

Water flows from a hose after the fire was extinguished.

DeKalb firefighters pack up their equipment after putting out the fire.

Ashley Bailey, 15, waits in the cold for her school bus early Friday morning. She said she knew the children from her former elementary school.

A DeKalb firefighter walks between trucks.

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Three children died in a house fire in DeKalb County early Friday morning. A fourth child was hospitalized. Firefighters were called to the fire at 358 Barbashela Drive in Stone Mountain just after midnight. Officials did not speculate on what may have caused the fire.

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