Pitbull dies in fire on E. 20th Street
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
Tyris and Sonya Slocum’s home burned Monday afternoon, but when they rushed home from work in response to a neighbor’s call they only had eyes for one thing: The blanket-covered body of their pitbull Titan.
“He was our baby,” Tyris Slocum said, hugging his crying wife. “Everybody loved him.”
The neighbors of the couple at 214 E. 20th St. were crying too.
Amelia Woodard said she was home shortly after 1:30 p.m. when she heard two loud booms and at first thought someone had hit her car.
When she looked outside, she saw flames at the Slocums’ house and immediately thought of Titan, who was home alone.
“We ran to get him out but someone said it might be a gas leak and to get away,” Woodard said as Taiesha Walker nodded and wiped a tear. “That dog was their child.”
Sharon Sentell said she saw Titus trying to get out the front door as the fire raced through the left side of the home. She slammed and banged on the door, she said, but couldn’t get it to budge.
“He was barking and barking and I finally busted a window out, but it was too late,” Sentell said.
Rome-Floyd County firefighters quickly doused the flames and found the body of Titus, who likely died of smoke inhalation. They covered him with a blanket in the yard and went through the burned-out house looking for hotspots.
Fire Investigator William Torres said late Monday the cause of the blaze had yet to be determined. Crews from the gas company were called to the scene but did not detect an odor, he said. Tyris Slocum said he and his wife had Titus for five years.