A devastating house fire in Meriwether County claimed the lives of two children early Sunday morning, leaving their mother with severe burns and fighting for her life in a local hospital, officials reported. According to the Atlanta News First, the fire call came in at around 3 a.m. for the family residence on Ira Parks Way in Manchester, where first responders found the victims trapped inside.
Tragically, one of the children, a girl, died at the scene and her brother passed away after being transported to the hospital, fire crews successfully rescued the mother and initially one of the children but the brutal blaze, it claimed another young life before they could intervene. The EMA Director for the county, Brin Jones, indicated that the siblings were between 10 to 12 years old, "The mother was taken to the hospital with severe burns. She was in critical condition," Jones said in a statement obtained by Atlanta News First.
The father of the children was not at home when the flames engulfed the house; however, the extent of his whereabouts during the incident has not been discussed by officials. The home was declared a total loss, as per Channel 2 Action News, and while the cause of the fire is still under investigation, authorities mentioned that there was nothing immediately suspicious about the origin of the fire.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office has been called in due to the fatalities to determine what happened a spokeswoman for the office confirmed the investigation but no further details have been released about what might have sparked the deadly incident, EMA officials added that the father escaped the fire unharmed and they have yet to release the identities of the family impacted by the tragedy.
