National

10-year-old twins killed in deadly house fire, Georgia officials say. ‘My two angels’

Breon and Bri Childs died Feb. 4 when a fire tore through their family’s home in Meriwether County, Georgia.
Breon and Bri Childs died Feb. 4 when a fire tore through their family’s home in Meriwether County, Georgia. Screengrab from GoFundMe.com

Twin siblings, both 10-years-old, were killed in an overnight fire at their family’s West Georgia home, fire and emergency management officials say.

Crews responded at about 3 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 4, to see “heavy flames” shooting from the house in Manchester, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, citing city Fire Chief Ben Williams.

Officials said it was home to a couple and their two kids, a boy and a girl.

Firefighters pulled the mother and one of the twins from the burning home with help from the children’s father, who wasn’t home when the fire broke out, WXIA reported.

“He jumped in the window to save his family,” a neighbor told the station. “He jumped in the window and was going to go back to get (his daughter) but they wouldn’t let him.”

The woman and her son were taken to a hospital, where the boy died, WSB-TV reported, citing fire officials. The second child also died after officials said she was unable to escape.

“It just don’t seem real,” the twins’ grandmother, Trudie Childs, told the station. “They are my two angels. They’re gone, they done left me.”

Relatives identified the kids as Bri Childs and Breon “BJ” Childs, according to WANF.

The children’s mother suffered severe burns and was hospitalized in critical condition, the station reported. Her condition wasn’t known as of Feb. 5.

McClatchy News reached out to the City of Manchester Fire Department for more information and was awaiting a response.

Authorities said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Manchester is about 80 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta.

Read Next
Read Next
Read Next

This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 10:58 AM with the headline "10-year-old twins killed in deadly house fire, Georgia officials say. ‘My two angels’."

Tanasia Kenney
Sun Herald
Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER