Fire Officials: Fire at Duluth apartment complex was caused by fireworks being set off in breezeway

January 2, 2020
1 min read
Fire Officials: Fire at Duluth apartment complex was caused by fireworks being set off in breezeway

DULUTH — Fire investigators have determined that a fire Monday night at a Duluth apartment complex was caused by fireworks that were set off a breezeway. The fire displaced 29 residents.

Fire Investigators have charged two people with criminal damage to property in the second-degree in connection with the fire that caused heavy damage to an apartment building at the Landmark at Bella Vista on Satellite Boulevard in unincorporated Duluth.

According to Donald Strother, a spokesman for the Gwinnett County Fire Dept., 18-year-old Gary McKinley, of Lawrenceville, and an unidentified juvenile were both arrested Tuesday afternoon after being interviewed by Fire Investigators.

The felony charge stems from reckless actions that damaged multiple apartment units and injured three residents as they escaped. McKinley was transported to the Gwinnett County Detention Center by police. Information about the juvenile is not being released based on juvenile status.

According to Fire Investigators, both were seen discharging fireworks in the breezeway earlier in the evening and admittedly left spent fireworks devices on the wooden railing and on the wood floor as they went inside an apartment unit belonging to a friend who was out of town at the time.

“This incident is a prime example of why it is important to use fireworks responsibly and in accordance with applicable laws and safety regulations,” Strother said.

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