MARCH 9, 2015
JOHNS CREEK, GEORGIA
One person was killed Monday in a predawn fire the ripped
through a Johns Creek home.
The fire was reported shortly before 6 a.m. at a home on
Summer Crest Court, in a neighborhood off Haynes Bridge Road, Johns Creek fire
Chief Jeff Hogan said.
He said firefighters arrived about five minutes later to
find the split-level house fully involved in flames from an “extreme, very hot
fire.” Hogan tells WXIA-TV
(http://on.11alive.com/1KKrNyl) that firefighters had to climb ladders and
enter the house through a window at the top of the garage to battle the fire
from above.
Hogan told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that once the
fire was knocked down, crews found the victim dead in the living room area,
about 15 feet from the front door.
Two dogs were also found dead inside the home, he said.
Hogan said the identity of the person killed has not been
determined.
Investigators do not know how the fire started, or whether
there were working smoke detectors, he said.
They do believe though that it started in the living room. The fire source is not known.
Neighbor Kim Dean said a woman in her 50s had lived in the
home for more than 20 years.
“She was a great lady, did a lot of volunteer work,” Dean
said. “She lived life quite large – quite the personality, touched a lot of
people in a lot of ways.”
Neighbors told
11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross the woman ran a hairdressing business out of the house.
They said she was very popular in the neighborhood and welcomed everyone into
her home.
The neighborhood is a small one where most residents have
“been here quite a while,” Dean said.
“We tend to know each other and watch out for each other,”
she said. “It’s kind of old-school.”
Source: www.11alive.com