Press Release
Atlanta – The Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner’s Office has ruled an overnight house fire in Bartow County that claimed the lives of two brothers and injured their parents accidental.
The fire which, occurred around 1:30 a.m., killed Scottie Croy, 49, and his brother, Jeffrey, 39. Their parent’s David Croy, 68, and Glenda Croy, 69, were transported to area hospitals with burns and smoke inhalation. The home located at 24 Martin Luther King, Jr., Circle, in Kingston, Ga., was heavily damaged.
“My fire investigator determined that the fire started in a rear bedroom of the home,” Deputy Insurance and Fire Commissioner Jay Florence said. “There was nothing suspicious about this fire, and we believe an electrical malfunction possibly caused the blaze.”
Investigators found no signs of a working smoke alarm inside the home. These deaths beings the total number of Georgians who have died as a result of a fire this year to 118. Of those deaths, 106 have occurred in residential housing.
The Bartow County Fire Department and the Kingston Police Department assisted with the investigation.