ATHENS — Three people are dead after an early morning house fire in Athens, fire officials say.
Fire crews were dispatched to a reported structure fire on Spring Valley Road at 3:27 a.m. Wednesday. A neighbor had called 911 and said the home next to his was on fire.
Crews arrived on the scene at 3:33 a.m. and found the home fully-involved with fire. Due to the extent of fire involvement, crews deployed hose lines for a defensive fire attack.
As crews were working to get the fire under control, they received reports from a neighbor that a juvenile had escaped from the fire and said there were other family members inside the home.
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The juvenile sustained some burns to their shoulder and suffered from mild smoke inhalation. After the juvenile was treated on scene, they were taken to Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center. When the crews were able to extinguish the fire enough to safely make entry into the structure, the bodies of three deceased victims were located.
“This is a tragic loss in our community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of the victims, ” Fire Chief Jeff Scarbrough said.
The bodies of the victims were taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Division of Forensic Sciences Medical Examiner’s Lab. The cause of the fire is undetermined and is still under investigation.
