Nearly 20 people were forced out of their homes by a fire that consumed multiple houses in southeast Atlanta early Sunday morning.
Firefighters responded to the conflagration on Charleston Avenue just after 12:30 a.m., Atlanta Fire Rescue said in a series of social media posts. At the scene, one house was engulfed in flames and the fire had already spread to two neighboring homes.
One of the houses served as a boarding house and was home to eight people, American Red Cross of Georgia spokeswoman Sherri Nicholson said in a news release.
On Sunday, January 23, 2022, shortly after 12:30 am, a full assignment was dispatched to Charleston Avenue SE. after callers advised a home on fire. pic.twitter.com/OdHgtONMwt
— Atlanta Fire Rescue (@ATLFireRescue) January 24, 2022
Firefighters pushed into the first home with “an aggressive interior attack” before they were called back out to shift to a “defensive operation” and keeping a fire watch until noon Sunday, Atlanta fire said. Video from the scene shows flames leaping from the roof of a home already blackened with smoke. The fire ultimately damaged four houses that were home to 14 family units, according to Nicholson.
The Red Cross provided blankets, food and water at the scene and is helping the residents with immediate temporary lodging and other essentials. Atlanta fire investigators are working to determine what caused the fire, but no further information has been released.
