Cobb County

Firefighters pull father, two children, family pets from burning home

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Firefighters are being called heroes after they rescued a father and his two children.

The family was trapped in a home in Kennesaw with fire and smoke raging through it. Firefighters who spoke to Channel 2's Chris Jose about the rescue said the flames were everywhere and they could barely see.

On Tuesday, Jose spoke to Fire Chief Randy Crider, who said the crew got to the scene in seven minutes and it didn't take them long to pull out the 9-year-old boy and his sister.

"Going into a place where you can’t see your hands and face, you don’t know the exact layout of the residence," Crider said.

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Crider said the 911 dispatcher kept the sister calm and told her what she needed to do to stay alive.

"Originally, her door was open. She closed her door," Crider said.

He said the sister stayed put until firefighters arrived. The brother had his bedroom door shut. He never left his room.

"They entered the bedroom windows, two windows at the same time," Crider said of the firefighters.

The team rescued the father from the garage. The chief said the actions of the dispatcher and the quick response time contributed to the happy ending.

Chastain spoke to the father when he came back to the house to meet with an insurance agent.

"He felt bad about everything, he knew how close it came. It could’ve been a lot worse," Chastain said.

The chief said the fire started in the kitchen, where the father was cooking.

Paramedics rushed the children to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and officials said they're doing OK.