Gwinnett community rallies around siblings who lost parents in house fire
A Loganville neighborhood is coming together to support three siblings who lost their parents in a house fire early Saturday morning.
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The fire broke out around 4 a.m. on Bay Cove Trail. Flames quickly tore through both floors of the home. Neighbor Matthew Catoe said he and his wife woke up to the sound of sirens and saw the fire spreading fast.
'The blaze at that point in time was throughout the first floor that we could see. At least two windows were gone and it was starting to creep up to the second floor,' Catoe said.
Gwinnett County firefighters pulled two adults from the home. They were taken to a hospital but later died from their injuries.
'Honestly, top-notch response from all the first responders. No notes. They were very quick. They were very professional,' Catoe said.
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The couple's three children survived. Catoe said their 21-year-old son helped one teenage sister escape, then ran back inside to rescue the other.
'He originally woke one of them who went down the rest of the cul de sac to rouse the rest of the neighbors, try to get some community together, and then went back in to get his other sister,' Catoe said.
The son was treated for burns at the hospital. Both girls were released with minor injuries. All three children are now living with their grandparents.
'We've got kids without their parents and parents without their kids on both sides of the coin,' Catoe said.
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Catoe, who recently moved into the neighborhood, started a GoFundMe to help support the children. The original goal was $5,000.
'We passed that within a day,' he said. 'The outpouring of the community has just been really, really heartwarming and really touching.'
The family has asked for privacy as they grieve. But for neighbors like Catoe, the community's response is a sign of something powerful amid the heartbreak.
'It's the silver lining on a bad day,' he said, 'but it's there, and we're very thankful for it.'
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