ATLANTA — Santeesha Crews lives across the street on Andrews and knew neighbor Ernest Eberhardt for years. She says chills run through her body when she stands at the site where Eberhardt and five other people were killed in a house fire Monday.
"It's just a tragedy of how they went and we can't accept it," Crews said.
As people like Crews wait for answers, members of the Community and Hunter Hill Missionary Baptist Church sought comfort in each other. They sang and prayed and held hands for the six victims.
"It just does my heart good to see how we come out together," pastor Christopher Wimberly said.
A small memorial grows just beet from the charred remains of Eberhardt's house.
Tabitha Grimes says Eberhardt took people in, and she was one of them once. She says thanks to Eberhardt's generosity, she has been sober for 10 years.
"He was just a good man. He helped all of us. He and the people that burned up in there we all have slept in there," Grimes said.
Some friends blame a faulty stove on the property. Neighbors hope official cause can be determined so they can make sense of the tragedy.