A 3-month-old girl was killed and her mother was critically burned in a house fire on Paines Avenue in northwest Atlanta on Thursday morning, officials said.
Authorities do not believe the fire was an act of arson.
“There’s no reason to believe that this fire is suspicious at this time,” Atlanta fire Sgt. Cortez Stafford said.
Firefighters responded to the area of Paines Avenue between Fox Street and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway about 2 a.m.
They discovered heavy fire coming out of the front door and smoke and fire billowing out of the windows, Stafford said.
The home appeared to be vacant, with security screens up and boards on the window, Stafford said.
After firefighters knocked down some of the flames, they found the mother with burns to the majority of her body in a back room.
She was taken out of a back window so crews wouldn’t have to take her through the front of the home, which was still burning, Stafford said.
“As they got deeper into the house and got some of the fire knocked down, they also discovered an infant in the home,” he said. “And that infant was discovered to be deceased on scene unfortunately.”
Fire investigators are working to determine what caused the blaze with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Authorities talked to witnesses and used a police dog in their investigation.
Neighbor Vincent Jones told Channel 2 Action News that a few weeks ago he noticed boards had been removed from the windows and front door of the house.
“I heard a couple of voices, so I attempted to try to keep an eye on it,” Jones said. “But I never saw anybody in it.”
It’s unclear why the woman was in the home with an infant and what caused the blaze.
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