(Lawrenceville, Ga., March 28, 2021) – Firefighters responded at 6:31 a.m. to a neighbor’s report of an apartment fire at the Anzio Apartment Homes located at 3100 Sweetwater Road NW in Lawrenceville. The 911 caller advised there was smoke coming from the neighbor’s apartment in Building 18. Multiple calls received by E911 Communications indicated a working fire with flames coming from the apartment.    

Crews arrived on scene and found a working fire on a two-three split apartment building. The center of the building was ablaze as firefighters rapidly deployed fire attack hose lines and completed a walk-around looking for victims. Gwinnett County Police immediately helped in making sure the building was evacuated. Firefighters on the front side of the building began knocking back the flames while another crew deployed a hose line to the rear of the building. Firefighters continued to make headway and transitioned to an aggressive interior attack to stop the progression of fire to additional units. Flames had ripped through all three levels of the building and extended into the attic. Additional crews on scene checked adjoining apartments for fire extension, completed multiple searches for victims and deployed ground ladders as secondary means of egress in case of emergency. The fire was brought under control approximately 40 minutes after arrival. Two of the 14 units were extensively damaged by the fire with minor smoke and water damage throughout the rest of the building. The natural gas and power were locked-out by the utility companies. No injuries were reported.

According to one of the occupants whose apartment was extensively damaged, he was awakened by his smoke alarm and noticed fire on the back side of the building. He was able to escape out the front door of his apartment. Other neighbors were soon alerted and began knocking on doors and evacuating the entire apartment building. While only two units were significantly affected by fire, the electricity was not able to be isolated to those individual apartments. A total of 25 adults and 11 children were displaced from 13 occupied units. The American Red Cross was contacted for temporary assistance to those in need

A fire investigator responded to the scene for origin and cause determination. The investigator determined the fire originated on the rear balcony of a main floor apartment in the center of the building. The cause remains undetermined and under investigation.

Firefighters encourage all citizens to practice home fire safety. Be sure to install working smoke alarms on every level of the home and in each bedroom. Develop a home escape plan and

practice fire drills regularly. For additional information on home fire safety, please contact the Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services’ Community Risk Reduction Division at 678-518-4845 or email fireprograms@gwinnettcounty.com.  

Equipment at the scene included: 6-Engines, 3-Ladder Trucks, 1-Squad, 1-Air/Light Unit, 1-Medic Unit, 1-Medical Supervisor, 2-Battalion Chiefs, 1-District Commander, 1-Fire Investigator and 1-PIO

Note: Pictures of the incident can be located on Facebook and Twitter @GwinnettFire.