ATLANTA — A fierce fire roared through a boarding house in Atlanta early Monday, collapsing the building and killing six people, authorities said.

Four men and two women died, Atlanta Fire Rescue spokesman Cortez Stafford said. Their names were not immediately available. Stafford said the cause was not determined.

Fire crews were called to the house on the city’s northwest side about 5 a.m. Monday. When they arrived, the blaze had already spread through the roof and throughout the building, making it impossible for firefighters to reach some areas of the home, Stafford said.

Five of the victims were found in the rear of the home and one was found in a front bedroom, he said.

The owner of the home allowed people to stay there when they needed to, said Kimberly Wise, a neighbor.

Hours after the fire, the acrid smell of smoke still hung in the air. The roof over about half of the gray house was completely caved-in, and its wooden frame was charred.

Some of the other homes in the neighborhood appeared vacant, and trees surrounding the burned home were overgrown with kudzu.

With the six deaths, there have now been a total of 39 fire deaths in Georgia this year, said state fire marshal spokesman Glenn Allen.

Associated Press