DALTON, Ga. — The Dalton Fire Department has determined that a fatal apartment fire last year was human-caused and didn’t start from a natural gas explosion.
But an attorney for the family of the mother and son who died in the blaze contends that old gas lines likely played a role in the fire.
The fire occurred on Aug. 22, 2009, at 410 Underwood Circle in apartments managed by the Dalton Housing Authority. Martha Sue Nations, 56, and her son, Jeffrey Nations, 34, later died from burn injuries, according to Whitfield County Coroner Bobbie Dixon.
PDF: News release and Ante litem letter
In a news release Friday, Dalton Fire Chief Bruce Satterfield said the fire started in Jeffrey Nations’ bedroom and was “caused by a human act of an undetermined nature.”