1 victim found, 2 still missing after East Point fire

Two residents escape through window; hunt for victims continues.

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 lo- cated one victim with the help of machinery used to sift through debris. But two additional victims had not been located Tuesday evening, 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 fires in single-family homes. On March 7, six people died when fire ignited in an Andrews Street home in northwest Atlanta.

After the most recent deadly fire, an excavator arrived late Tuesday morning 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 of the home 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 started in the home 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 Atlan-

ta Journal-Constitution he could see the flames high in the air and hoped everyone had made it out.

Firefighters arrived on the scene within five minutes and found heavy fire and smoke coming from the front and side of the house.

They began a defensive attack, deploying hand lines to the outside of the structure to battle the flames, but were unable to enter the home, Shelton said.

Two residents, including a man and woman, were able to escape.

“He got out through a window,” Andrews said.

The two that escaped the home, whose names were not released, told investigators at least two people, and most 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 more than three hours to contain the blaze and continued to battle hot spots at 6 a.m. The roof and floor in the home collapsed, making it dangerous for firefighters to enter.

Crews remained at the scene throughout the day. The search for additional victims was a delicate operation due to 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.

A portion of Hogan Road was blocked during the investigation.

JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM Firefighters search late Tuesday morning for three people believed to have died in a fire that destroyed an East Point home in the 2900 block of Hogan Road. It took about three hours for firefighters to contain the fire.

JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM A distraught Tony Billingsley arrives at the Hogan Road home. He feared his former fiancee, who lived at the home, had died in the fire.