DEKALB COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
DeKalb County firefighters are crediting two men for saving the lives of five people in an assisted living home that caught fire Tuesday morning.
Melvin Cooper and Carmeno Blake happened to be driving by the Hadrian Way home at about 6 a.m. and saw the flames. They called 911.
"I was about to leave, but I said, 'Somebody may be in there.'" said Cooper. "So we went and started beating on the door of the house."
They woke up a woman who they would later learn was a caretaker for four elderly people who live in the home. When she cracked the front door, the flames grew worse, Cooper said.
"So we went around to the back and helped them," he said. "The people couldn't walk. We had to help them get out of the house."
"I'm beating on the next-door neighbor's (door) waking them up in case the fire spread because the wind's blowing," said Blake.
"If they hadn't been here, it could have been a bad situation," said Battalion Chief Greg Rucker.
Because it was cold and windy, firefighters quickly found temporary shelter for the two male and two female residents displaced by the fire.
No injuries were reported. Investigators are working to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire.
"I'm just glad we got them out safely," said Cooper.
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