A family was forced to flee their Chamblee home after it went up in flames Thursday morning, officials said.
Two adults were taken to a hospital with injuries, and a baby DeKalb County fire crews initially feared was trapped inside the Shallowford Road home made it out safely. Not all of the family’s six pets have been accounted for, according to DeKalb fire spokesman Capt. Dion Bentley.
Crews are still at the scene working to make the structure safe enough to search. Shallowford Road was shut down near Chamblee Tucker Road while firefighting efforts were underway. The road was reopened about 10:30 a.m.
Fire crews and officers from the Chamblee police department were sent to the home about 7 a.m., Bentley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from the scene.
“Once they arrived on scene, Chamblee PD was already on scene and informed us that we did have a victim outside with burns,” he said.
Authorities called for medical personnel to treat the burned woman and took her to a hospital, Bentley said. A man was also taken to the hospital, but the extent of his injuries is not clear.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Authorities worked to determine if anyone else was in the house. They were able to confirm initial reports of a baby trapped by the blaze were incorrect.
“The child was outside the building, thank God,” Bentley said. “As a firefighter, when you hear ‘a child inside,’ all of our hearts sink.”
Crews then turned their attention to the blaze.
About half of the house was in flames, and crews worried that the home next to it would also catch on fire.
“We focused on hand lines to protect the home that was not on fire,” Bentley said. “Then we started to commence our attack on the fire.”
At least one of the family’s pets escaped the burning house before fire crews arrived, he said. Crews have not been able to enter the home to conduct a thorough search due to the dangerous conditions.
“Visibility was real poor because of the weather and smoke and things, so we had to really take some precautions,” he said.
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
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