CONYERS—Authorities are on the scene investigating a duplex fire that killed four of five children who were in the home late last night. The children’s mother was burned over 40 percent of her body and is at Grady Hospital in critical condition.

The children who died were 8 months, 3 years old, 7 years old and 9 years old, said Rockdale Fire  Chief Dan Morgan.

Authorities said the mother managed to save one of the children—a boy who turned 6 years old today.  She threw that child from a second-story window from the duplex,  Morgan said. A grandmother who was in the home also escaped. The grandmother had chest pains but no life-threatening injuries, Morgan said.

The fire occurred around 11 p.m. at 1149 Pinedale Circle, a community of rental duplexes that Rockdale Commissioner Oz Nesbitt described as “having families with moderate incomes.” The duplexes are located within the city limits of Conyers not far from Voices of Faith Ministries and Christian Growth Cathedral International.

“It’s a tragic day for Rockdale,” Nesbitt said. “To lose so many children this way, I don’t have words to express the loss.”

All of the children were on the second floor when the fire started. The 6-year-old survivor   was taken to Egleston Hospital, where he was treated, Morgan said. Family members said he was released and is with grandparents in Atlanta.

The incident was the first fatality fire of this year, Morgan said.

More on the story to come.