WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Friends and family in Warner Robins are mourning after a house fire that killed two people Saturday.
A Warner Robins city employee stepped in to try to save their lives.
James Coley says it hit home because his mom died in a house fire, and after he took a good look at the burning house, he realized he knew the homeowners. He was a friend of a family member.
"As I was headed to work that morning to go pick up a couple things to take to a tournament that we were having and I looked to my right, and I'd seen fire flames coming out of the back of the house," Coley said.
Coley says he was first on the scene and he called 911. He was formerly a medic in the military, so he tried to get inside.
"You could see a couple of flames, but the smoke just barreled out real black, so that was just the rough part of all, because I knew I really couldn't go in there, and then it made me kind of like, felt helpless," Coley said.
One of the victims was 70-year-old Owens Collins. He worked as a custodian at Northside High School for over 30 years before retiring in 2016.
The second was his stepson, 57-year-old Joseph Luster, who was disabled but enjoyed helping fix people's bikes in the neighborhood.
Coley said, "I just wish I could have did more. That's all. You know, I just want to let everybody know if you can help someone, try to do it if you can."
Raphaelia Wallace, Collins' granddaughter and Luster's niece, sent 13WMAZ a statement about the loss, saying, "This horrible and unexpected tragedy has rocked our family to its core. We had recently just lost our grandmother, Mary Ann Collins, in December, and we were finally picking up the pieces before this event happened. These past few months have been hard, and with this, it is going to get harder."
Wallace continued, "Owens and Joe 'Duck' were constant figures in our lives and we loved them dearly, and we are going to miss them so much."
Wallace says the family thanks everyone for their condolences.
Investigators are still trying to confirm the cause of the fire.