11-year-old girl reportedly saving dog from burning house dies in Georgia fire

An 11-year-old girl has died and a firefighter was injured Saturday evening after a fire engulfed a home in Spalding County, officials said.

Crews were called just before 5:30 p.m. to the residence on Sidney Drive near Griffin, according to Spalding County fire Chief Mike Byrd. Firefighters could see the blaze from more than a mile away, the chief said. When they arrived, they encountered heavy flames and smoke coming from both the first and second floors of the residence.

After learning someone was trapped inside, crews quickly went upstairs and found the girl’s body. “She had already succumbed to the conditions and they were unable to revive her on scene,” Byrd told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The chief confirmed that other family members were at the home at the time of the fire, but he did not elaborate further. No foul play is suspected, Byrd added.

The girl’s uncle told Fox 5 Atlanta that the girl, identified as Katelynn Simonds, died trying to save her dog. The dog also died.

“Katelynn, she’s like us, an animal lover. She went upstairs and got that puppy. His name was ‘Little man,’” the uncle, Charles Beecher, told the station.

According to officials, a firefighter also sprained their ankle during the operation but they are expected to be OK.

The home is located just north of Ga. 92 near Heads Creek Reservoir. A cause of the fire remains under investigation.

In February, 23-year-old Madison Summerville died at the hospital after saving her three children from a fire at their home along Old Atlanta Road in Spalding County, about five miles east of Saturday’s blaze. The children were flown to Grady Memorial Hospital and were expected to be OK.

“Our family is having a terrible time with this because it was so sudden and now it’s just a hole left in our hearts that she once filled with so much joy,” Summerville’s sister, Chasidy Summerville, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after her death. “We do find some little comfort knowing she did all she could to save her babies, and then eight more (people were saved) by her organ donation.”

Byrd said some of the firefighters who responded to that home in February were at the scene of Saturday’s fire.

“It’s very hard on our firefighters and it actually is the same shift that ran that earlier call,” Byrd said. “We try to train and prepare for these type of events but we don’t want to lose. They could see the fire well over a mile away so there was nothing we could do, but it doesn’t help them. They still felt very helpless … (and) are hurting today.”

Byrd said it was unclear if the smoke alarms in the house were working Saturday. Still, the chief advised people to make sure their devices are working properly because “tragedy can happen anytime.”

AL.com contributed to this report.