(Buford, Ga., November 3, 2021) – At 9:42 A.M., firefighters responded to a call for a business fire at 1450 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Buford. The call to 9-1-1 reported a fire in a 3-bay automotive shop.

Upon arrival, crews found the automotive shop fully involved, threatening an adjacent building which housed the offices for the business. Crews quickly deployed attack lines to knock down the fire which had already spread to the attic of the office building. Once it was confirmed that all occupants were out of the building, crews moved to knockdown the fire in the automotive shop. Using large master stream nozzles from the ground and elevated streams from a ladder truck, crews were able to get a knock down on the fire. Due to the high amount of contents within the shop, including vehicles, car parts and automotive fluids, it took crews an extended amount of time to consider the fire as “under control.”

The Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources provided manpower and an excavator which was used to take down pieces of the structure so that firefighters could extinguish any remaining fire without the threat of a collapse hazard. Peachtree Industrial Boulevard had to be closed in both direction due to a water supply line that had to be laid across the roadway.

Members from the department’s Hazardous Materials team were on scene and worked to control the runoff of motor oil and other automotive fluids, preventing the substances from entering storm drains. There were no reported injuries on scene to civilians or firefighters. Crews were given the opportunity to rehydrate and rest on scene as they operated for an extended period of time. Peachtree Industrial has been reopened to traffic.

Fire investigators responded for cause determination and were able to rule out any suspicious activity as the cause of the fire. Due to the extensive damage, the exact origin of the fire has not been determined. The Gwinnett Police Aviation Unit provided support to fire investigators by deploying a drone to help get a better view of the scene.

One crew remains on scene awaiting Georgia Power to restore electric service to parts of the property that were involved in the fire. The scene will then be turned back over to the business owner.

EQUIPMENT AT THE SCENE INCLUDED: 4-Engines, 3-Ladder Trucks, 1-Squad, 1-Medic Unit, 1-Air & Light Unit, 2-Battalion Chiefs, 1-District Chief, 1-Hazardous Materials Truck, 1-Medical Supervisor, 1-PIO and 3-Fire Investigators.