SNELLVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A fire that sent flames shooting through the roof of a mobile home in an Atlanta suburb killed a mother and her three young daughters, news outlets reported.
The cause of the blaze in Snellville early Saturday remained under investigation, Gwinnett County fire Capt. Thomas Rutledge said Sunday. He did not have the victims’ identities, but WSB-TV, citing family members, said the children were aged 6, 4 and 1.
“It’s a tragic incident for the community. It’s tragic for the family and certainly for our firefighters,” Rutledge told the AP.
Fire crews who responded to the home went through a window and passed two of the children to colleagues outside, Gwinnett fire officials said. Bystanders had tried to enter the structure, but were turned back by the heat and smoke.
The two children were unconscious and received medical care before rescuers determined they had died. Firefighters continued searching the home and found another child and the woman dead.
Investigators believe the blaze started at the back of the trailer.
“She was a good mom,” neighbor Yacmin Coria told WSB-TV as she teared up. “She always take care of her daughters, be responsible for her daughters. She’d do anything for her daughters.”
The family’s pastor, Joaquin Contreras, said the kids liked to hear stories about the Bible.
“They were very nice kids in the church,” he told WSB.
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