A man was seen waving from a second-story window when crews with the Gwinnett County fire department arrived at a burning apartment building Monday night.
The fire broke out at about 7:50 p.m. at a complex on Huff Street a few blocks west of the Lawrenceville square. The first crews to arrive found a two-story building on a basement with heavy fire blowing through a breezeway in its center, fire Capt. Ryan McGiboney said.
Firefighters used a tactic to vent and quickly enter the apartment to rescue the victim on the second floor, while other crews laid multiple hoses to combat the flames, McGiboney said in a news release. Ladders went up on all sides of the building as a precaution, but no one else needed to be rescued.
“Firefighters received rumors that a second occupant remained trapped in one of the apartments. However, additional searches confirmed everyone had escaped,” he said. “The fire was brought under control by 8 p.m.”
One man was treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening and released at the scene. The American Red Cross of Georgia was working with apartment management to help the displaced residents.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. A tenant told fire crews the smoke alarms inside the building were newly delivered and functional, according to McGiboney.
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