News Details
GWINNETT FIRE MEDIA ALERT: WEATHER RELATED INCIDENTS – JUNE 8, 2019
(Lawrenceville, Ga., June 8, 2019) – Fire and Emergency Services responded to numerous incidents today with various degrees of severity due to weather conditions. The following is a synopsis of some of those incidents but does not include all calls for the time period.
Firefighters responded at 4:21pm to an occupant’s report of a house fire on the 1500 block of Norwood Drive SW in unincorporated Lilburn. The caller to 9-1-1 reported that the back porch was fully engulfed.
Crews arrived on scene and found a working fire at a one-story, single family residence on a basement. The occupant of the home had safely evacuated. After walking around the residence to determine if any safety hazards existed and the most efficient plan of attack, a hand line was deployed and taken to the rear of the structure. From the outside, firefighters extinguished the blaze that had consumed the enclosed porch but flames had extended up into the attic. Crews repositioned themselves to the front of the structure. They were met by an additional crew with a second hand line. The fire attack team made entrance into the structure through the carport as they began knocking down the fire while heading to the attic. The fire started to burn the length of the attic and due to the materials used on the addition of the house, the ability to pull sheetrock from the ceiling was significantly hindered. Fire personnel on the exterior of the residence deployed a third hand line to battle the flames that started burning the left side of the structure. As these flames were extinguished, crews began removing the eaves from the house in order to gain access to the blaze in the attic. Approximately 25 minutes later the incident was brought under control.
As crews were in the process of preserving the structure and its contents from any additional damage from fire, smoke, water, and firefighting activities, an active fire was seen taking place right next door. Per the Officer in Charge, resources from the initial fire were sent to begin suppression activities while a request was being made for additional units to respond. Flames from the second fire unit had already started venting the windows on the rear of the one-story, single family residence on a basement. The owners of this residence had arrived to their home earlier but remained in their driveway to watch firefighters battle the blaze in their neighbor’s house. They were completely unaware of the fire that was taking place in their own residence. Firefighters were able to make an aggressive interior attack with a 1 ¾” hand line through the carport at the front of the house. Fire personnel were able to contain the flames to the rear of the residence.
The initial fire unit has extensive fire damage throughout and is no longer livable. Despite being displaced, the adult occupant has made their own temporary arrangements. The fire in the second unit caused heavy fire damage in the rear of the house with significant smoke damage throughout. The two adults of this residence have declined assistance from the American Red Cross.
Per the Fire Investigator, lightning made a direct hit on the roof of the second fire unit first. A surge from this lightning strike to the electric power system caused the blaze in the first fire unit. There were no reported injuries before, during, or after fire activities.
Equipment at the combined scenes included: 5-Engines, 1-Ladder Truck, 1-Squad, 2-Medic Units, 1-Air & Light Truck, 1-Special Response Unit, 2-Battalion Chiefs, 1-Fire Investigator, and 1-PIO.
TREES/WIRES DOWN:
- Power lines reportedly down on the 2300 block of Whitebluff Way NE in Buford. Crews actually found a blown transformer but no smoke or fire.
- An AT&T utility pole had low hanging wires at Hewatt Road SW and Stone Mountain Highway SW in Snellville. The wires never hung below the traffic light.
- Tree down on 6800 block of Mimms Drive NW in Atlanta. No active fire or hazards found.
- Tree limbs made contact with a power line, causing the limbs to smolder at the 4300 block of Mountain Glen Trace SW in Snellville.
- A broken telephone pole was moved to the side of the road on the 2900 block of Highpoint Road SW in Snellville.
ASSIST CITIZEN/FLOODING:
- A sprinkler system malfunctioned requiring a new sprinkler head after water evacuation took place on the 5900 block of Sugarloaf Parkway NW in Lawrenceville.