Resident who died in Midtown Atlanta boarding house fire called a hero

ATLANTA - A third person has died after a fire at a home close to Georgia Institute of Technology in Midtown Atlanta.

Officials tell FOX 5 it only took firefighters five minutes to respond to the home on the 1000 block of State Street at around 2:30 on Wednesday morning.

When crews arrived at the chaotic scene, they found the front of the house engulfed in flames with smoke pouring out of the inside of the building.

Nine people were inside the home when the fire started. One of the victims had to jump out of a window on the second floor of the back of the house.

Viewer video shows flames shooting about 15 feet into the air.

"I came outside, I just saw big flames coming out of the house," said Tristan Autry, who lives nearby.

After crews rescued six of the residents, medics rushed two people to the hospital with critical injuries. Both victims did not survive their injuries.

The man who jumped out of the window was also taken to the hospital for minor injuries.  

The victims told firefighters that one of the people who was killed had alerted them about the fire.

FOX 5's reporter Tyler Fingert spoke to the owner of the home, who said it was a boarding house where seven people lived. The owner also said that the person who alerted other residents about the fire and was killed was disabled. The owner calls that resident a hero. 

"One of the guys called me, and he said, I smell smoke, and he told everybody to get out," said Sammy Jaraysi, the owner of the boarding house.

Jaraysi says the man who first spotted the fire was disabled and did not make it out himself.

"That's what they call him, a hero because he saved their lives, but he couldn't make it," he said.

Fire crews remained on the scene hours later looking for hot spots and making sure the fire didn't begin again.

Investigators were also on scene looking for evidence of what started the blaze. Atlanta Police are assisting with the investigation and detectives have gathered some evidence. 

Neighbors say they heard arguing outside less than an hour before the fire started. It is unclear if this is arson, but Atlanta Fire is investigating. 

The Red Cross has been called to assist the residents while the damage to their home is assessed.

The deceased have not been identified at this time.