Busy Week for GA Firefighters Leaves 52 Families Homeless

As families across the state hunker down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 170 DeKalb County residents have found themselves without a place to call home following a series of apartment fires this week.

The latest blaze occurred Thursday afternoon at a complex in the 3500 block of Indian Creek Way in Clarkston, officials said.

Firefighters were able to contain the Clarkston fire to the apartment where it broke out, but 13 people were left homeless.

Crews responded about 1:15 p.m. and discovered a large fire in an apartment on the building’s first floor, according to DeKalb fire spokesman Capt. Dion Bentley.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze before it spread to the second story and no one was injured, but 13 people from five families were left without a place to live.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Bentley said.

One day earlier, in the middle of the night, two dozen families were displaced when a fire swept through a Lithonia-area apartment building. The blaze began about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Retreat at Stonecrest complex on Amanda Drive, according to the Red Cross of Georgia.

An early-morning fire Wednesday on Amanda Drive left 24 families homeless.

When crews arrived, they found heavy flames at the back of the building near the top level. A second crew was called in while the first worked to evacuate residents, AJC.com previously reported.

Firefighters went door to door under the assumption that everyone was home under the state order to shelter in place, officials said.

“We knew that kids were out of school, (and) there are some people not working right now,” DeKalb County fire Assistant Chief Christopher Morrison told Channel 2 Action News from the scene.

No one was injured and the first crew was able to contain the blaze before backup arrived, he said.

When it was all said and done, 74 people from 23 families were left without a home, Red Cross spokeswoman Sherry Nicholson said.

Volunteers met with the displaced families to provide lodging, food, clothing, health items and emotional support, the Red Cross said.

“Caseworkers will continue to help these affected families get back on their feet through outreach and referrals to community resources,” she said.

The first of three fires that DeKalb County firefighters battled in just a few days left 20 families homeless at an apartment complex on Camelia Lane.

The series of DeKalb fires began last Saturday, with another two dozen Lithonia families losing their homes when a fire torched its way through a 20-unit building, authorities said.

The fire broke out at the Belle Vista Apartments on Camelia Lane about 6 p.m. Bentley said the blaze started in one unit before quickly spreading to the roof, causing heavy damage. Much of the structure also sustained fire and water damage as crews snuffed out the flames.

Everyone was able to make it out of their homes safely, but 80 people from the 24 families were forced to find somewhere else to live, according to the Red Cross’ latest tally.

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