Georgia sheriff: 2 victims in house fire were toddlers
Two toddlers died Monday afternoon after a house fire in Lumpkin County, the sheriff’s office said.
Just after 4:15 p.m., the Lumpkin sheriff’s office got a call about the blaze at the home on Rider Road Spur.
“A neighbor had passed by and saw flames and they called 911,” Lumpkin Sheriff Stacy Jerrard told Channel 2 Action News. “At that time, we responded with the fire, EMS and the sheriff’s office.”
Authorities from Dawson and Hall counties assisted in the response, he said.
Crews did not initially know how many people were inside the residence, Jerrard said.
“We [knew there] was [a] possibility of children inside the house,” he said. “After dealing with the residents here, that’s when we found [there were] children inside. They [were] rescued by fire and EMS and [the] sheriff’s office.”
The two toddlers were taken to Northside Hospital-Forsyth and Chestatee Regional Hospital, one with burns and the other with smoke inhalation, sheriff’s Lt. Chris Pfrogner said. Both were pronounced dead.
One of the toddlers was one year old, Pfrogner said. The other was two years old.
At the time of the fire, their father was not home and their mother was outside, Pfrogner said.
Just before 7 p.m., firefighters were still on the scene of the blaze, which remains under investigation.
Lumpkin County is about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta.
About the Author
Rodney Thrash is the morning breaking news coach for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has been with the paper since November 2013.
