Chickamauga, GA – A Sunday morning house fire in Walker County claimed the life of LaFayette High School teacher John Millican III and left his wife and two young children with serious injuries.
According to Walker County Fire Marshal Scott Forrest, emergency crews were dispatched at 7:38 a.m. to a report of smoke inside a residence at 127 Ridgewood Circle. Firefighters arrived within nine minutes to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the front of the home.
Heather Millican and the couple’s two children, ages 3 and 8, had escaped the house before crews arrived. Firefighters entered the home to search for John Millican, who was still trapped inside. He was located unconscious in a back bedroom, rescued, and transported to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy is planned to determine the official cause of death.
Heather Millican, a Social Studies teacher at LaFayette Middle School, and the children were transferred to the Vanderbilt Burn Center in Nashville for treatment of their injuries.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Officials say the residence is a total loss.