News Details
FIREFIGHTERS CONTAIN MID-MORNING BLAZE TO ONE APARTMENT UNIT
(Stone Mountain, Ga., August 17, 2015) – Gwinnett County Firefighters responded on Monday, August 17, 2015, at 10:24a.m., to a report of an apartment fire in the 1900 block of Glenn Club Drive, SW in Stone Mountain. The caller was a neighbor who saw smoke coming from the windows.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke in the breezeway and active flames burning inside a single apartment unit on the ground floor. Residents in neighboring units were in the process of evacuating from the two-story building as fire trucks arrived at the scene. Crews quickly deployed fire attack hose lines and made immediate entry to extinguish the blaze and conduct a primary search. “Firefighters say the conditions were extremely hot; and that dense smoke was banked-down to the floor inside the burning apartment,” said Gwinnett Fire Captain Tommy Rutledge. Firefighters worked fast and contained the fire to the unit of origin. There was no extension past the one-apartment unit. Firefighters checked the adjoining apartments and the attic of the building, but found no visible fire or smoke conditions.
The cause of the fire appears accidental and was sparked by a halogen lamp that was left-on and fell against a bed mattress. The occupant of the apartment was not at home at the time the fire erupted and there were no injuries reported. The occupant was displaced from the burned apartment due to the damage, but denied Red Cross assistance.
Residents in the adjoining apartment units within the building were allowed to return to their homes once the situation was declared under control and the smoke was cleared from the breezeway.
Firefighters encourage anyone living in an apartment to practice fire safety and to report any unsafe conditions to management at the complex. Have a home fire escape plan and practice fire drills regularly. Be sure that smoke alarms are working properly and have a portable fire extinguisher close at hand.
EQUIPMENT AT THE SCENE INCLUDED: 4-Engines, 2-Ladder Trucks, 1-Squad, 1-Medic Unit, 1-Air & Light Unit, 1-Medical Supervisor, 2-Battalion Chiefs, 1-Fire Investigator and 1-PIO.