WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — During Monday night's council meeting, Mayor Randy Toms honored Warner Robins Recreation employee James Cody, who stopped to try and help during Saturday morning's fire.
"He saw what he thought was smoke coming from the back of the building, maybe somebody was burning some leaves in the backyard. He went closer to the house and he found out it was a house fire on Suzanne," says Toms.
Toms says the city employee made it into the home before fire crews got to the scene.
"He was met with flames, he was met with a sign that said 'oxygen in use,' which feeds the fire, makes it even hotter, so thank you to James Cody," he says.
Houston County Coroner Danny Galpin says 70-year-old Owens Collins and 57-year-old Joseph Luster died in the fire.
Family members told us that Luster was Collins' step son.
Toms says although Cody could not help save the men, he's proud to know that city workers would risk their lives to try to help others.
"He was a former Army medic, he was trained in what to do, he wasn't able to make entry into the house and help anyone, but he was willing to do what he could do and that's the kind of city employees we have," says Toms.