Ex-Atlanta Braves pitcher, family escape home fire

[March 02, 2011]  ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) -- Former Braves closer Mark Wohlers said his wife raced through their suburban Atlanta home and saved him and their three children as flames started spreading through the house early Tuesday.

The home in Milton, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, was engulfed by the time firefighters arrived, said Milton Fire Department spokesman Andrew Kennedy.

Wohlers called his wife, Kimberly, a hero for waking him up, then going upstairs "quicker than I can blink an eye" to get the couple's children, ages 3, 5 and 7.

"Just let whoever cares about us know that my wife was the hero," Wohlers told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Kennedy said firefighters were told it was a porch fire but it quickly spread to the roof and the rest of the home, which was a total loss.

"As tragic as it is, property can be replaced at some level," Kennedy said. "To be able to get out safely and unharmed is certainly what we hope for."

Firefighters also worked to protect neighboring homes from the flames in strong and gusty winds, Kennedy said. Investigators have not determined the cause.

Firefighters were able to recover some of Wohlers' trophies from the basement, said Fire Chief Robert Edgar.

Wohlers, a native of Holyoke, Mass., joined the Braves in 1991. He saved the sixth and deciding game for Atlanta to win the 1995 World Series. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1999 and retired three years later.

[Associated Press; By JEFF MARTIN]

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