Woman dies in overnight house fire in Dekalb County

LITHONIA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A pile of charred belongings could be seen in the driveway of the home on Huntington Place Circle where just hours earlier just after 1:00 a.m., a fire claimed the life of a woman.

“You look at the house it doesn’t even look like it’s been burned,” said Debra Blair, as she observed while taking a morning walk.

Blair walks the neighborhood nearly every day. She said she would see the family who lived there often.

“I’m just devastated to hear she lost her life in the fire,” said Blair.

Investigators said five people, including three children were inside when the fire started. Everyone got out except for the woman. When fire crews arrived, they found her body inside of the garage, outside of the car that was parked. The captain on scene said the family could not find her in time.

“Originally they were awakened by the smell of smoke, subsequently saw fire as well and attempted to locate the perished resident and by that time it was too late,” said Captain Jaeson Daniels, Dekalb County Fire Rescue Department.

“This is a tough situation especially for our guys and girls, the firefighters, the boots on the ground, this is a difficult situation,” said Daniels.

The family returned to gather some belongings later in the morning, but declined an interview. Meanwhile neighbors remain in disbelief.

“It’s very troubling, extremely troubling,” said Mark Strowbridge, who lives across the street.

“You never know. One day we see our neighbors, family members, and don’t realize how precious life is at that moment,” said Blair.

The cause of the fire was ruled undetermined, unless new developments come along.

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