Man dies in Warner Robins house fire

Glenda Files came home from work Thursday morning to find her house on fire.

Going in the front door, she saw flames shooting from the kitchen and thick smoke in front of her.

"I got off from a 16-hour shift to open my door to smoke and more smoke," Files said.

Knowing her 34-year-old son was home, she called 911 and alerted dispatchers that someone was trapped inside the burning house at 129 Chuck Circle.

Someone broke a window in a bedroom in the back of the house, where she thought Terence Files would be, but heavy smoke hampered the initial rescue efforts.

Once the Warner Robins Fire Department arrived, one firefighter went through the broken window as other crews entered from the front door.

They found Files unconscious and pulled him to safety.

Houston County EMS crews performed CPR, but were unable to revive him.

"My brother was a loving person," said Tiffany Duvall, his sister, who lives down the street. "He kept to himself. He was very quiet, very outgoing. Anything our kids had going on, he supported them, any sport."

Duvall was at work when her mother called about the fire. By the time she got there, her brother was already at the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Warner Robins Police Department is investigating Files' death, although there was no apparent sign of foul play.

"Of course with any death we treat it as suspicious until the results of the autopsy come in," said Jennifer Parson, police spokeswoman.

Thursday's autopsy showed Files died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide intoxication, said Houston County Coroner Danny Galpin.

Firefighters said there were smoke detectors in the Files' home at the corner of Varee Drive, but they were not working, firefighters said.

Investigators believe the man started cooking, but fell asleep.

Fire damage was contained to the kitchen, but smoke damaged the rest of the home off Ignico Drive on the northeast side of Warner Robins.

Files returned back home a couple of months ago and had been looking for work as a painter, his mother said.

When asked what she would miss about her son, Files said: "A little bit of everything. He was my baby."

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Man dies in Warner Robins house fire ."