Victims identified in deadly Winthrop Drive fire; 5 children escape burning home
Family of 4 killed in DeKalb County overnight fire
An overnight fire on Winthrop Drive claimed the lives of four family members in a multi-generational home that housed 11 people. Among the victims were Joseph "Pac-Man" Thomas, who reportedly sacrificed his life to save five children in the home, and three seniors in their 70s: Willie Smith, Junior Smith, and Mariana John Chambers.
ATLANTA - A multigenerational family is mourning the loss of four relatives after a fast-moving fire destroyed a home on Winthrop Drive just before midnight Wednesday.
‘He went back in to see if he could help’
What we know:
The DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office said 43-year-old Joseph Thomas, 70-year-old Willie Smith, 73-year-old Maryann Chambers, and 70-year-old John Chambers died in the fire.
DeKalb County firefighters arrived at the scene on Winthrop Drive, near Glenwood Avenue and Interstate 20, just before midnight to find the residence engulfed in heavy smoke and flames.
Crews arrived at the home following reports of people trapped inside. Firefighters located 43-year-old Joseph Thomas, known to loved ones as "Pac-Man," and transported him to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Rescue teams were met with immediate reports of people trapped inside. While crews managed to pull one victim from the burning structure, that individual later died at Grady Memorial Hospital. Firefighters subsequently discovered three more victims inside the home.
A family member who spoke with reporters off-camera identified two of the deceased as his mother and father.
FOX 5 Atlanta was later told that 7 people, including 5 children, were able to escape the fire.
‘She succumb to the same fate years later’
What they're saying:
According to family members, 70-year-old Willie "Junior" Smith died while attempting to rescue others.
"He went back in to see if he could help some of them out, and he never came back out," said Gladys Kinchen, a neighbor who has lived next door since 1994.
"It's horrible. It's just horrible," Kinchen said, recalling the moment she saw the blaze. "When I looked out my backdoor, the fire was just shooting out the back."
Interim Fire Chief Melvin Carter said his crews did everything they could upon arrival. Kinchen noted that the family’s large support network gathered at the scene during the recovery efforts.
"Their family is pretty big and a lot of them were out here last night," Kinchen said. "They stayed until they brought them all out."
4 killed, 7 safe after fire in DeKalb County home
Four people are dead and 7 others are safe after an overnight fire at a home in DeKalb County overnight. Five of the people who escaped were children. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
Grace Snelling, who spoke through tears Thursday at the scene of the blaze, struggled to process how the family matriarch, Mary Ann, could perish in the same manner as her children decades earlier.
"How in the world does she succumb to the same fate years later?" Snelling asked. "Years ago, her kids died of the same fate. On her birthday. She never celebrated another birthday."
According to Snelling, the fire broke out while Mary Ann was inside the home with several others. She said Mary Ann's niece and a child managed to escape to the street. Despite the growing flames, two men identified as "Junior" and "Pacman" reportedly rushed back into the burning structure.
"Junior and Pacman went back in because it was this young lady and three kids," Snelling said. "Mary Ann was screaming from the house saying, 'Don’t worry about me. Get the kids out. Get the kids out.'"
Snelling described the men as heroes, noting that they successfully brought two children to safety before re-entering the home in a final attempt to save Mary Ann and another man, John. None of the four survived.
"As close as they are, as much as they love each other, I can actually see Junior doing that and Pacman," Snelling said. "They went back in because they love them so much."
For the family, the tragedy reopens a wound that had never fully healed. Snelling recounted a fire from years ago that killed three of Mary Ann’s children, including a daughter named Denise Snelling. She recalled the trauma Junior carried after being unable to save his niece from that earlier blaze.
"He would never be the same again," Snelling said of Junior. "He was so withdrawn and pulled in... he carried that with him for a long time."
Snelling, who is linked to the family through various siblings and children, said the loss of four friends and relatives at once is "a pill that I can’t swallow right now."
"I lost three friends to a house fire, now four more," she said. "I need you to come, put your arm around me, and hold me till I can be held no more."
4 family members killed in SE Atlanta house fire
Four family members are dead after an overnight house fire on Winthrop Drive in DeKalb County. This is breaking news. Marc Teichner reporting from the scene.
What we don't know:
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
What you can do:
The surviving family members, who lost all their belongings in the fire, are now pulling together to care for the five children who escaped. A GoFundMe page has been established to assist the family with expenses.