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A Georgia house fire claimed the life of an 11-year-old girl trying to save her dog, family said. FOX 5 Atlanta.
The fire ripped through a home outside the Griffin city limits on Sidney Drive in Spalding County Saturday night. The house was completely lost, firefighters told FOX 5.
The victim’s uncle identified the girl as Katelynn Simonds.
“He always had that smile on his face,” Charles Beecher, Simonds’ uncle, told the television station. “That’s what I’m going to miss.”
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Beecher said the boy died around 5:30 p.m. while trying to be a hero.
“She was worried about her dog upstairs and ran upstairs,” he explained. “Katelynn, she’s like us, an animal lover. She went upstairs and got that puppy. Her name was ‘Little Man.'”
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Neither Katelynn nor the dog made it out. Beecher, who described him having pain in his voice as he talked about the loss, said the family is now left with memories.
“I helped take care of them and always took care of them while (their mother) worked,” Beecher said.
The chief of operations for the Spalding County Fire Department told FOX 5 that crews attempted to save the girl, but when they arrived, the home was completely engulfed in flames. Responding firefighters were offered counseling services to help them process the tragedy.
“We came in, all of us, with that attitude. We’re going to do everything we can, as far as humanly possible, to try to make a difference,” Spalding County Fire Department Chief of Operations Mike Byrd told FOX 5. “And these stories (are) just very tragic for us.”
Katelynn’s brother and two other people were in the home at the time the fire broke out and survived, FOX 5 states.
Katelynn was a student at Cowan Road High School, according to WSB-TV. Relatives told the local television station that she was a cheerleader with the Spalding and Pike counties recreation departments and lived with her mother, brother and stepfather. A firefighter sprained his ankle while carrying Katelynn out of the house, WSB reported.
A small memorial was left outside the home as community members mourn the loss of Katelynn.
Investigators have determined the fire was accidental. It started on the first floor of the home in the living room area, a Spalding County Fire Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
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