Two dead after residential fire

Two people are dead following a residential fire on Sunday morning, Sept. 20.

A caller contacted White County 911 around 2:49 a.m. about a mobile home fire on Autumnwood Way, just off Westmoreland Road. The person told dispatchers he was trying to rescue occupants who were trapped inside the residence, said White County Public Safety Director David Murphy in a statement Monday morning.

White County Sheriff’s Office personnel arrive to assist the caller and victims. White County Fire Services stations 4, 5, and 2 and the Cleveland Fire Department were also dispatched with White County EMS. Firefighters saw fire in the middle portion of the mobile home and, with assistance from the Sheriff’s Office, began to battle the blaze.

Two occupants of the residence died at the scene and another male patient treated by EMS had to be flown by air ambulance to the Grady Burn Center, Murphy said.

According to the Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner Office the cause is believed to be accidental. State Fire Investigators are helping White County Fire Services, WCSO and the White County Coroner with the case.  

Hall County Fire Services and the Lee Arrendale Fire Brigade provided mutual aid during the event.

The victims have been identified as Cleveland residents 88-year-old Hazel Dodson and 53-year-old Lisa Dodson, according to White County Coroner Ricky Barrett.