Two Die in Space Heater Fire in Southwest Atlanta

ATLANTA - Two women died in a house fire in southwest Atlanta. 

Now, investigators are wondering if a space heater found near their bodies is responsible for the blaze.

"It's a tragedy, that's my neighbor," said neighbor Kenneth Powell.

People in a southwest Atlanta neighborhood awoke Sunday moing to find a home of an elderly woman and her daughter on Estes Drive up in flames.

They later leaed both women died in the fire just a few feet away from the front door.

"The fire was coming out the front door, like a big blaze of fire," said Powell.

"It's very likely they could have become unconscious from smoke inhalation but the flames engulfed all the combustibles in the room," said Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran.

In the downstairs area where the two women's bodies were found, authorities found a space heater they're investigating as the cause.

During this winter's cold weather snap, fires in Atlanta, Gwinnett County and Dekalb County have all been started by problems with the portable heaters -- that's why authorities say residents need to be especially careful when using the devices.

"The material on a jacket, a curtain, a bed sheet, a comforter, if it's close enough, the radiant heat -- the heat generated by those heating coils -- can catch on to something that can bu if it's in close proximity to it. So it doesn't take very long at all," said Capt. Eric Jackson of Dekalb County Fire and Rescue.

In this latest fire, the only survivor was the family dog -- revived by fire fighters.

According to neighbors, the dog had saved the women from a blaze at the same home before -- but this time they were not as fortunate.

"The two ladies have absolutely been the lights of our street. They're wonderful people," said neighbor Shane Shook.

Firefighters plan to retu to the neighborhood Monday to talk to homeowners about fire safety and to hand out smoke detectors and if necessary, help residents install them.