2 hospitalized after fire breaks own in Cobb County home's basement

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Cobb County officials are investigating a house fire that sent two people to the hospital and killed a family's pet late Monday night.

The fire happened around 11 p.m. at a home on the 1800 block of Greenfinch Court.

What we know:

Officials tell FOX 5 that crews arrived at the scene and found heavy flames coming from the rear of the home and extending all the way into the attic.

At first, crews believed that there were people still inside the home and began an aggressive search to find them.

While the search was ongoing, crews learned that the homeowners were outside and had walked up to a nearby ambulance.

(Cobb Fire Rescue)

The two residents were taken to the hospital for smoke-related injuries.

Cobb Fire Rescue officials say there were two dogs inside the home when the blaze started. One of them escaped, but the other died at the scene.

After hours fighting the fire, crews were able to put out the flames.

What we don't know:

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials have a theory about what may have started it.

"The homeowner states that he did have a space heater activated and believes that it could be the cause of the fire," Lt. Steve Bennett said. "Cobb Fire investigators have not yet verified this to be the cause, but it definitely started in the basement."

(Cobb Fire Rescue)

What you can do:

If you have any information that could help with the fire investigation, contact Cobb Fire Rescue.