EAST POINT, Ga. — A woman and four children are safe after fire engulfed their house, causing its walls to collapse and briefly trapping a firefighter. It broke out just after 2 a.m. Saturday on May Apple Lane in East Point.
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The firefighter was assessed on the scene and was not injured, the East Point Fire Department said in a statement.
A woman who lived in the house told Channel 2’S Bryan Mims that five people were inside, including a 20-year-old woman, a 3-year-old boy, a 15-year-old, and 11-year-old twins.
A neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said the twins ran into the street, yelling for help, while the others escaped through the back of the house. Nobody was hurt.
She said one man came over with a fire extinguisher, but the flames quickly consumed the house.
Alveta Cornelius lives two houses down and recalls “being awakened by a knock on my neighbor’s window, trying to get them out,” she said.
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She walked into her garage and felt the heat.
“The flames were very high, very high,” she said. “I was a little shaken, a little afraid, but the firefighters here did a wonderful job. Hats off to them.”
The fire department said nine people lived in the house. Representatives from the American Red Cross came to the scene to assist the family.
Firefighters are working to determine what caused the fire. Two neighbors told Channel 2 Action News that the fire appeared to have started in the garage.
Neighbors are thankful everybody is safe after such a devastating fire.
“They got out, and everyone is OK,” Cornelius said. “I’m sorry for the loss of their home, and I’m sorry this happened to them.”
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