ATHENS, Ga. — Athens officials are investigating the death of a person whose body was found in the aftermath of an apartment fire early Saturday morning.
According to Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services, the fire occurred around 4:30 a.m. on Westchester Drive. Within three minutes of receiving the call, the first units arrived on the scene to find an apartment unit already burning heavily with flames shooting through the roof.
The first crews quickly hit the unit that appeared to be the starting point of the fire with water. The fire was so intense that firefighters also began working to protect adjacent apartments from the spreading flames as a latter truck worked from above to knock down the blaze.
A total of four fire engines, a ladder truck, a rescue unit and over 20 firefighters were involved in the battle to bring the fire under control and get other occupants out of harm's way.
And while the occupants of surrounding units weren't harmed, a search of the unit where the fire started revealed that one person had died there. The state agency will be tasked with officially determining the cause of death and providing a positive identification.
The intense fire had destroyed the unit where the body was found and also caused "extensive damage" to three others.
The state fire marshal's office is now working alongside local fire investigators to uncover exactly how the fire started. The victim, who has not yet been publicly identified, has been taken to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy.
