Cause of Fatal Christmas Day Fire Undertermined

The DeKalb County Fire Department remains unsure what caused the intense Christmas Day fire that and rapidly consumed her Cravey Trail home, an investigator said this week.

The department's initial report said the fire began in the kitchen's cooking area, but it may have started elsewhere in the room, said Jack Archie, an investigator with the department. Foul play is not suspected, however.

"A lot of fires go undetermined," he said.

The cause of death was "thermal injuries to the body," said Pat Bailey, the county medical examiner.

Hoose was found dead several hours after the remarkably fast-moving fire consumed her 3,000-square-foot home at 2891 Cravey Trail. Hoose's in-home caregiver, Joneaa Williams-Heath, dialed 911 to report the fire just before 6pm.

The home was built with a large amount of open space, Fire Chief Edward O'Brien said, giving the fire room to spread quickly. The house's three floors were fully engulfed within five minutes of the department's arrival, the report said.

"Pulling up to that much fire... it's just hard to believe sometimes," O'Brien told North Druid Hills-Briarcliff Patch in December.