Two people were able to climb out windows and escape when fire destroyed an East Point home early Tuesday. But three people were trapped, believed buried in the charred debris as portions of the home collapsed.
A portion of a front brick wall was the only part of the ranch-style home still standing Tuesday afternoon as the search continued for victims.
Nearly 12 hours after fire ripped through the Hogan Road home, investigators located one victim with the help of machinery used to sift through debris. But two additional victims had not been located late Tuesday afternoon, according to East Point's interim fire chief, William Ware.
“I’m hoping for the best,” Ware said. “I’m hoping we’ve found the only victim. But unfortunately, we’ve been forewarned of other victims.”
It was the second time in eight days that multiple people died in a single-family house fire. On March 7, six people died when fire gutted an Andrews Street home in northwest Atlanta.
After the Tuesday morning fire, an excavator arrived to sift through the debris and remove the collapsed roof on the home, located in the 2900 block of Hogan Road. The machinery stopped after a body, believed to be that of a woman, was located, Ware said.
The fire caused the roof of the home to partially collapse to the main floor, Ware said. And much of the main floor collapsed into the basement, he said. It was impossible for investigators to know whether the woman had been on the main floor of the home or in basement.
“The fire pretty much consumed the inside of the structure,” Ware said.
The fire started in the house about 10 minutes after midnight, East Point fire spokeswoman Renita Shelton said. Around that time, neighbor Ellious Andrews said he got a phone call from another neighbor telling him about the blaze. Andrews told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he could see the flames high in the air.
Firefighters arrived within five minutes and found heavy fire and smoke coming from the front and side of the house. They began a defensive attack, shooting water on the flames from the outside of the structure. But the collapse of the roof and floor made it too dangerous for firefighters to enter the house, Shelton said.
Two residents — a man and a woman — were able to escape. Their names were not released.
“He got out through a window,” Andrews said.
The two who escaped told investigators at least two other people, and very likely a third, were also inside. Investigators had not determined Tuesday afternoon whether some of those living in the home were renting rooms.
Firefighters worked for more than three hours to contain the blaze and continued to battle hot spots at 6 a.m
Crews were expected to remain at the scene throughout the afternoon. The search for additional victims was a delicate operation because of the use of machinery, Ware said.
The cause of the blaze was not known Tuesday afternoon, but preliminary findings indicated the fire was accidental, Ware said. It was not known whether the home, built in 1969, had smoke detectors.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office was assisting with the investigation Tuesday afternoon.
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