GRIFFIN, Ga. -- A community is mourning the death of a 6-year-old boy who died in a Friday morning house fire.
Franklin Freeman, Jr. died when an electrical fire that started in the kitchen, spread. The child's 14-year-old brother was able to escape the blaze unharmed with the help of a Spaulding County Sheriff's Deputy and a neighbor, according to Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens.
Neighbor Cathy Hayes told WXIA a police officer had to prevent the older brother from running back into the burning home. "Little Frankie was still in there. They found him behind the door in the living room," Hayes said.
Neighbors also described the home as "a hoarder's house". Trash and debris littered the yard around the home. One family dog was seen wandering the area, and neighbors say two others died in the fire. Fire officials told WXIA they did not find the dogs in the house.
Hudgens ruled the fire a accident.
"The exact cause was an electrical malfunction in the wall near a microwave oven," he said in a release.
Hudgens said fire investigators from his office worked with the Spaulding County Sheriff's Office and the Spaulding County Fire Department.
