Homeowner dies in DeKalb County house fire

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Firefighters were called to a home on Cheru Court in DeKalb County early Saturday morning for reports of a fire.

An engine and ambulance arrived at the home at about 4 a.m. and saw the flames.

The first responders tried to go inside, but only made it a short way in when part of the roof started collapsing.

Once the fire was out, crews found the body of a 71-year-old man beneath the charred rubble.

A neighbor said he woke up to the smell of fire and someone banging on his door.

"It was coming out the top, shooting up straight in the air. Black smoke, fire, sparks coming from center of the house," said neighbor Griffin Waddell.

The medical examiner was called to the scene to identity of the victim.

Fire investigators are still trying to determine how the fire started, but they do not believe it to be suspicious.

WSBTV