MACON, Ga. — Folks in North Macon's The Element Apartments say the loss of two neighbors in an overnight fire is heartbreaking.
17-year-old Shaterrika Booze, and her 50-year-old mother, Vallera Booze died early Friday.
Rondell Charleston lives right next to Vallera Booze. He says he woke up to the smell of smoke and someone pounding on his front door.
"So, by the time we came out of the house, we saw all the smoke next door,” Charleston said.
He says he was woken up by neighbors alerting him of the fire, and he went to tell Booze immediately.
"I went into my bedroom and kicked on the wall because her room is right behind mine,” Charleston said. “She was unresponsive, nobody came to the door.”
Fire Chief Shane Edwards says the 911 call came in around 1:40 a.m.
"There were possible phone conversations early on in the call that there may be people inside the structure,” he said.
That was Vallera Booze and her daughter, Shaterrika.
"They first dragged the daughter out of the house first, and 10-12 minutes later, they dragged the mom out, but neither were responsive,” Charleston said.
He says he's known both Booze and her daughter since last July. Charleston says Booze was a nurse practitioner, and Shaterrkia was in high school.
"They was good people, you know. Just regular, everyday people. A daughter going to school, and a mother just trying to go to work and make ends meet,” he said. “This is horrible. That's somebody I'm never going to see again that I see everyday.”
Charleston says he, Booze, and another neighbor all have smoke detectors, but none of them went off during the fire.
"You know, as far as the hardware goes, the electric, it's not really too safe here,” he said.
Edwards says they're still investigating the cause of the fire, but says it started on the first level of their two-floor duplex.
He says he wants to leave folks with some advice.
"Please, please check your smoke alarms. Make sure they are in working order. If they're not in working order, notify your apartment complex management team. They are required by law to have them in working order and installed in your apartments,” Edwards said.
He says they're investigating whether those smoke detectors were working.
We also spoke with the family of the two women. They did not want to speak on camera, but they said they got a call about the fire early this morning, and they did get to see Vallera Booze before she passed.