An early morning house fire in Lawrenceville Saturday claimed the life of an occupant and displaced three others.
Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services said firefighters responded to the report of a residential fire on the 1000 block of Tumble Wood Trail at 6:16 a.m. The 911 caller reported they were awakened by the smell of smoke and discovered that the house had caught fire.
When Emergency Services arrived at the scene, firefighters found the single-family home heavily involved in flames. Bystanders to the incident informed them that there was possibly a victim still inside the house.
The department said in a press release that when firefighters entered the home to find the occupant, there was low visibility due to the condition of the building. Search teams located the body of the female victim in a bathroom. The bodies of two family pets were also discovered.
The department says the cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. The three other occupants displaced in the incident are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross.
Due to the tragedy, firefighters encourage residents to develop a home fire escape plan, practice fire drills regularly, install and maintain working smoke alarms, and look for and eliminate hazards that could cause a fire to start or grow in intensity.
