A massive house fire in DeKalb County left two people dead Monday morning, according to officials.

A neighbor called 911 around 1:30 a.m. to report heavy flames coming from the Cohassett Lane home in the Panthersville area. The house is in a neighborhood off Flat Shoals Road and not far from I-285.

When firefighters arrived shortly after the call, the home was already fully engulfed, DeKalb fire spokesperson Capt. Jaeson Daniels said. The flames were so powerful that the house partially collapsed, leaving crews to battle the blaze from the outside. They worked quickly to protect two other homes on either side of the property.

The fire was eventually extinguished, leaving the home 90% destroyed.

At the time, there was no sign that any victims survived, Daniels said. Firefighters had to wait for a specialized team to assess the structure’s integrity before they could go inside to search for any victims, he added.

By mid-morning, two bodies had been located. Their names have not been released.

Daniels said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.

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DeKalb County fire officials and state fire investigators inspect the site where a DeKalb firefighter was fatally injured Monday. (Ben Hendren for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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