The list of casualties from the Jan. 24 fire that killed 74-year-old Ann Bartlett in her Dunwoody home just keeps growing.

By Feb. 3, DeKalb Fire Rescue Chief David Foster had resigned, and two captains, two battalion chiefs and an acting officer had been fired by the county.

The first fallout came Jan. 29 when Public Safety Director William Miller fired acting Officer William J. Greene, Capt. Tony L. Motes and Battalion Chiefs Lesley Clark and Bennie J. Paige for neglect of duty. On Feb. 3, he also terminated Capt. Sell Caldwell for neglect of duty.

The five fired firefighters were among the crew that responded to the early morning 911 call from Bartlett reporting a fire in her home in the 1600 block of Houghton Court.

The firefighters left saying they couldn’t see a blaze.

When the fire department was called to the home a second time, it was engulfed in flames. Bartlett’s body was found in the garage. Her dog and cat also died in the fire.

Bartlett’s daughter, Ruth Bartlett, flanked by the family’s attorney, expressed disappointment with the fire department’s response to the fire.

“She paid her taxes in DeKalb County for 41 years, yet when she needed DeKalb County, they did not find her,” she said. “They did not find the person who made the 911 call. No one walked up this hill to her house. No one knocked on her neighbor’s door asking questions.”

David Foster, who had been DeKalb fire chief since 2003, resigned on Feb. 1. Altogether, he spent 15 years with the department on two separate stints.

CEO Burrell Ellis immediately named Deputy Chief Eddie O’Brien as acting chief. O’Brien’s brother, Bill, is the county’s acting police chief.

Shelia Edwards, Ellis’ spokeswoman, said Thursday that Foster’s resignation was not related to the Bartlett fire and that he was not forced out.

“It was his choice to resign,” she said. “The CEO met with the fire chief on Monday and talked to him about some things. As a result of the conversation, he chose to resign.”

Foster’s resignation came just three years after he was awarded a Medal of Honor, the highest award for “brave and heroic” actions for a Aug. 11, 2005, incident when a man killed Pine Lake Police Officer Francis Ortega.

Eddie O’Brien, who worked his way up the ranks, is a 24-year veteran of the DeKalb Fire Department.

He holds an associate’s degree from DeKalb College in fire science and a bachelor’s degree in occupational safety and health for fire administration from Columbia Southern University in Orange Beach, Ala.

Edwards said O’Brien’s qualifications got him the job, not kinship or nepotism. She said he has been second in command for several years and was the logical candidate in the wake of Foster’s departure.

Before his appointment, O’Brien oversaw 700 personnel and the daily operation of 26 fire rescue stations operating 68 emergency response units.