City of Valdosta Press Release:

The Valdosta Fire Department responded to a residential structure fire at 523 Sustella Avenue Saturday morning around 5:15 AM. The first fire unit arrived within five minutes and reported heavy smoke and flames visible from the front of the residence. Fire personnel initiated an aggressive fire attack to gain control of the fire. Additional fire units on the scene started aggressively searching the home. During the primary search, VFD personnel were able to locate three residents and quickly removed them from the house. SGMC EMS and VFD personnel immediately started providing advance medical services to the occupants. Two occupants did not survive, and the third occupant was transported to SGMC and eventually life-flighted to a burn hospital. The condition of the third occupant is unknown at this time. The fire was under control at 5:25 AM. There was a total of 17 VFD personnel on the scene. Georgia Power and Georgia Natural Gas assisted in securing all utilities, and VPD provided support services to firefighters on the scene.

The house sustained a substantial amount of fire damage with a total loss of $75,000. The fire is currently under investigation by Valdosta Fire Department and Police Department. For additional information, please contact Chief James Clinkscales, Fire Marshal at 229-333-1835 or jclinkscales@valdostacity.com .