Man Dies In East Rome House Fire

An unidentified male resident of a home in East Rome was killed after his residence at 704 East 17th Street was destroyed by fire Friday Evening.

Rome Fire Quint 3, Engines 2 and 1 along with Ladder 1, Rescue 1, and Car 25 first responded to reports of a structure fire on the section of E. 17th Street off of Dean Avenue around 9:00 pm. As Quint 3 raced to the scene, they reported visible smoke and flames from 2 blocks away. When firefighters arrived, they received reports that the male resident was possibly still inside the burning one story wood home, a report  reinforced by the fact that his car was in the driveway. Firefighters quickly moved into the home which was already fully involved with flames shooting from the roof and began a search as more firefighters arrived and began fighting the fire from the outside.

Before the flames had even been doused, firefighters located the male victim inside near the back of the home and summoned a Floyd EMS crew who were standing by on Dean Avenue to the scene. A short time later officials summoned the deputy coroner to the scene.

Rome Fire Officials on the scene confirmed to Rome Newswire that the single male resident was at home at the time of the fire and perished in the blaze. The victim had been identified but his name was not released at the time of report. Firefighters also had not determined the cause of the blaze, which gutted the center of the house and burned through the roof.

Firefighters had the fire knocked down within 15 minutes of their arrival and were on scene for over 2 hours investigating the fire along with Rome Police and Rome Fire Marshal Dean Oswalt.

Dean Avenue between King Street and East Central Elementary School was completely blocked for the duration of operations by fire apparatus and a hose line.