Chickamauga, GA (November 9, 2025) – A house fire Sunday morning near Chickamauga claimed the life of a Walker County teacher and left his wife and two children suffering from serious injuries.

Walker County Fire Marshal Scott Forrest says dispatchers received a call at 7:38 this morning concerning smoke inside a home at 127 Ridgewood Circle. When firefighters arrived nine-minutes later, they found heavy smoke and fire coming from the front of the home.

Heather Millican and her two children, ages 3 and 8, were already out of the house, but her husband, John Millican III, was still trapped inside. Firefighters began a search and rescue operation and found the man unconscious in a back bedroom.

The LaFayette High School teacher and coach was transported to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

Millican’s wife, a Social Studies teacher at LaFayette Middle School, and two children are being transported to Vanderbilt Burn Center in Nashville for treatment.

A cause for the fire remains under investigation. The house is considered a total loss.