DULUTH — Gwinnett County Firefighters say 29 people have been displaced just before the new year after a fire claimed their apartment building Dec. 30.
Firefighters were dispatched at 8:38 p.m. to a report of a fire at the Landmark at Bella Vista Apartments at 4015 Satellite Boulevard NW in unincorporated Duluth. Multiple callers to 9-1-1 reported the building being on fire.
Firefighters reported seeing a dark column of smoke while driving to the scene. Upon their arrival at the multi-family dwelling, crews found flames and smoke aggressively pushing out of the backside of the building. Parts of the structure had already started to collapse. Firefighters attempted to make entrance into the building to begin extinguishing the flames and search for potential victims but couldn’t due to the conditions.
Significant heat from the blaze pushed firefighters back outside of the apartment building.
The Incident Commander instructed two ladder trucks to put their aerial platforms into operation and begin placing large volumes of water on the building. Fire officials say this decision, along with the building’s firewall, enabled firefighters to keep the flames from extending to the next building over.
Once the blaze was brought under control, search teams checked the building for victims. No victims were found and the property manager was able to confirm that all residents had been accounted for.
Fire Investigators responded to the incident and are actively trying to determine how and where the fire started in the 10-unit building. The American Red Cross is providing temporary assistance for 29 individuals, six of whom are children.
Two patients were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The fire department is encouraging all residents to keep their home and family safe by following simple fire safety rules:
- Install working smoke alarms on every level of the home and in each of the bedrooms.
- Develop a home fire escape plan and practice fire drills regularly.
- Have a collapsible fire escape ladder.
- Keep a portable fire extinguisher close at hand to douse a small fire.
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