Mother, son die in southwest Atlanta house fire

ATLANTA — Investigators are working to learn what sparked a fire that killed a mother and son early Thursday morning in southwest Atlanta.

The fire happened in the 100 block of Pope Street in southwest Atlanta just after 1 a.m.

Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach saw the charred remains of the house Thursday morning as investigators inspected the aftermath of the blaze.

A neighbor spotted the flames out her window and called 911. Neighbors said firefighters arrived in minutes and tried to use ladders to reach the victims, who were trapped on the second floor, but by the time they got to them it was too late.

Neighbors told Gehlback they heard screams from the home.

"You could hear screams and then they stopped," Lynn Blake told Gehlbach. "It was just so sad I wanted to cry. Just crazy."

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By Thursday morning, neighbors had started to leave candles and stuffed animals across the street.

At least one neighbor told Gehlbach the son was a good guy and that they believe he was trying to save his mom. They were still grappling with the news that both mother and son had died.

"I just really gotta stay prayed up. My heart…just heartbroken over this," another neighbor told Gehlbach.

Neighbors said they watched flames quickly climb an outside wall near the front porch.

Investigators say its too early to tell if the fire was arson or simply a tragic accident.

Cox Media Group