MACON, Ga. — Two people are dead after an apartment fire Tuesday morning at a south Macon apartment complex.
The victims are 29-year-old Kedrick Willis and 37-year-old Quajalene Murphy.
"It was sad, it was very sad to even see anything like that," Christopher Aiken said.
Aiken says he is still in shock after driving past a fire in his apartment complex Tuesday morning.
"They announced two people had passed. Just to even hear that, yeah, it could've been my folks instead," Aiken said.
The fire happened around 2:30 a.m. at the EZ Green Apartment on Houston Avenue.
Investigators say the fire appears to be accidental, though they don't know the cause yet.
"Winter is actually are peak season for fires," Macon-Bibb County Fire Safety Educator Jeremy Webb said.
Webb says they see an increase in fires around this time of year.
"This year, we are actually at 11. We're at a higher number than we've had in the past few years," Webb said.
Webb says the pandemic played a role in the uptick because more people are staying inside.
He also says with the holidays approaching, more people are cooking and turning on their heat.
"We want to remind people to have working smoke alarms in their house, test these smoke alarms on a monthly basis, and change the batteries in them twice a year. We also want to exercise a fire escape plan where you have two ways out and a safe meeting place on the outside of your home as well," Webb said.
Webb also urges people not to leave the kitchen unattended while cooking.
That's where most house fires start.
"We just want to encourage everyone, sad to say, to practice fire safety with you and your family and equip your home with the necessary materials because you never know when you may experience a fire emergency within your home," Webb said.
Webb says if you give the Macon-Bibb Fire Department a call, they will be more than happy to install a brand new smoke detector into your home.
He also says that they will help you family come up with a fire escape plan, all for free.
That number is 478-751-9180.