WALKER COUNTY, Ga. — An unattended candle may be to blame for a Walker County fire that killed two children Tuesday.
Nataleigh Long, 6, and 8-month-old Jocelin Long died in the early morning fire at 161 Caribou Lane, in Chickamauga, which is about 115 miles northwest of Atlanta.
Richard and Heather Long, Nataleigh's parents, survived the fire and helped three other children, a 9-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, escape the blaze with minor smoke inhalation, according to the Chattanooga Times-Free Press. They were transported to a hospital, treated and released.
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Richard Long’s daughter, Katie Long, was Jocelin’s mother and was not at the home at the time of the fire, The Associated Press reported.
Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said the fire appears accidental, having started on a couch in the living room area, where someone left a candle unattended.
Hudgens said investigators found no evidence of a working smoke alarm inside the home.
These fatalities bring Georgia’s residential fire death total to 92 for 2016.
Cox Media Group
