When firefighters responded to the InTown Suites on Suwanee's Celebration Drive early Sunday, they found 67-year-old Bruce Howell McShane dead inside his smoky first-floor room.
Little was known Monday morning about the blaze, which had already been extinguished by the motel's sprinkler system by the time authorities arrived around 2:15 a.m. It was unclear if there was a smoke alarm in the room.
But if and when McShane's death is officially ruled fire-related, it would mark the 13th such fatality in Gwinnett County this year — a number that far exceeds tallies of such incidents in recent history.
Gwinnett had a total of 18 fire-related deaths between 2011 and 2015, according to fire department statistics.
"While not all fires are preventable," fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said, "all fire injuries and deaths are preventable by following proper fire safety practices."
An autopsy was scheduled for Monday afternoon for McShane, who lived at the hotel, officials said. His death came almost exactly a week after flames ripped through a home on Duluth's Post Oak Drive, killing the five people inside.
A 19-year-old mother and her father were among those killed.
Seven other people have been killed in fire-related incidents across Gwinnett this year, including one each in fires on McDaniels Bridge Road in Lilburn (Feb. 2); The Falls Parkway in Duluth (Feb. 2); Esom Drive in Snellville (Feb. 11); and James Street in Lilburn (May 28).
On Feb. 11, a fire on Pointer Ridge in Tucker claimed the lives of two young girls and their mother. The Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office is investigating that blaze.
The county has seen no more than seven fire-related deaths in any other year since 2011, according to fire department statistics. There were no fire-related deaths in the county in 2015.
To prevent fire-related deaths, Rutledge said, residents should have working smoke alarms on every level of their home, as well as in hallways outside sleeping areas, in each bedroom and in basements. Residents should also have a fire escape plan and practice it regularly.
Rutledge also passed along potentially life-saving tips for escaping a fire:
• Get low and get out. Smoke — and the accompanying carbon monoxide — can fill a room or hallway in a matter of seconds. Cover your mouth and crawl to find a door or window to escape.
• Time is your enemy. Experts estimate that you have two minutes or less to escape a burning home. Never waste time.
• If you're trapped, try to get as far away from the fire as possible, with as many closed doors between you and the fire as possible. Stuff something like a sheet or blanket under the door and cover the cracks to keep smoke out.
Open a window to signal to firefighters.
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