Man, woman found dead inside DeKalb home that partially collapsed after fire

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A man and woman died in a house fire early Monday on Cohassett Lane in DeKalb County.

A witness told Channel 2′s Michael Seiden that he heard a loud explosion before seeing huge flames.

Tafari Stevenson-Howard said he and his friend were watching a movie when they heard the loud explosion. At first, he thought a tree had fallen onto his neighbor’s house.

“We run outside and we just see the house engulfed in flames,” Stevenson-Howard said.

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He said they called 911, but within minutes the flames were out of control. By 1:40 a.m. on Monday, DeKalb County firefighters were in an all-out battle.

“Once we extinguished the fire, we found that the house was structurally unsafe for us to be in due to a partial collapse of the structure,” DeKalb County Fire Rescue Capt. Jaeson Daniels said.

Joan McDill said her nephew Derris Woods, 35, died in the fire with his girlfriend, who has not been identified.

She said her nephew’s death couldn’t have come at a worse time for her family because a year ago her family buried Woods’ brother after he died unexpectedly.

“He’s a good kid. He’s a father. He has daughters,” McDill said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Fire investigators did not suspect foul play.

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