A man is recovering from severe burns after he ran back inside a burning house on Dale Creek Drive in Atlanta on Saturday morning, trying to save a dog trapped inside. He managed to get himself back out of the home on his own, but not before the flames left him badly injured.
Firefighters were called to the 2500 block of Dale Creek Drive Saturday morning to find a one-story wood-frame house with flames blazing from the back and right side of the structure, according to Atlanta News First. Crews knocked down the fire, but not before the man suffered severe burns, which fire officials attributed to his attempt to reenter the home for the dog.
The man was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment. The outlet's report notes that firefighters did not find the pet inside once the flames were out, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Red Cross Steps In to Help Displaced Residents
The American Red Cross was called to assist the home's residents in the fire's aftermath, per the same account. Details on how many people lived in the house, or the extent of the damage to the structure itself, have not been released.
The Saturday fire echoes a tragedy in Lilburn earlier this year that ended far more grimly. In January, a man died after reentering his family's burning home to rescue their dog, Captain, an incident detailed by atlantanewsfirst.com. The dog survived, but the man who went back in for it did not.
A Familiar and Dangerous Pattern
In that Lilburn case, firefighters had responded to the 200 block of Sandra Drive at about 6:30 p.m. after reports the house was on fire with people still inside. Two occupants were home when the blaze started; the house sustained extensive fire damage, and fire crews transported one victim with life-threatening injuries. The dog was ultimately taken in by a neighbor, while the man's mother was displaced from the home.
CBS News reported that no smoke alarms were active at the time of the Lilburn fire, and that two adults were ultimately displaced from the property. That earlier case underscores just how dangerous it can be to go back into a burning structure, even for a beloved pet, and how quickly a rescue attempt can turn deadly.
As for Saturday's Atlanta fire, the cause is still being investigated, and it remains unclear whether the dog the man tried to save was ever located.
