A raging fire at a Tucker condominium complex Friday morning trapped a resident on a second-floor balcony.
The man was rescued by the first DeKalb County fire crew to arrive at the Northlake Manor Condominiums on Woodbriar Circle, according to fire department spokesman Capt. Dion Bentley. Crews were called to respond about 7:30 a.m.
“Thank goodness our crews were able to get in there and get some ground ladders out, and bring him on down with minor injuries,” Bentley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
There were no other injuries reported. During their first few minutes on scene, Bentley said multiple fire crews quickly got to work to evacuate the building and begin putting out the flames.
Resident Victoria Golden said the smell of smoke woke her from her sleep.
“I grabbed my dog first thing, ran outside, and I saw the building on fire,” she told the AJC. “Flames coming out the top, smoke everywhere.”
Golden said she was worried for the man trapped on his balcony, but firefighters were able to get him down quickly. She is now turning her attention to helping the residents who lost their homes.
“Most people have other places that they can go, but I know that a lot of people have lost a lot of valuable things, so we are going to try to get help for them,” she said. “I’ve lived here about a year, but some of these people have lived here for six, seven years.”
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Bentley did not know how many residents were displaced by the blaze. Two units sustained the most fire damage, and several others were damaged by smoke, he said.
While the cause of the fire has not been determined, one man was arrested at the scene in connection with the investigation, according to authorities. Bentley said the department would not release the man’s name until the investigation was complete.
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