Aggressive apartment fires in Cobb County and Sandy Springs this weekend have led to a couple dozen families being displaced, although there were no injuries.
The first blaze came late Saturday afternoon at the Walton at Columns Drive apartments on Riverlook Parkway in Cobb. Residents there say they heard yelling and neighbors running around knocking on doors shouting for them to get out.
Firefighters said the blaze got up into the attic and spread, making more than 16 units unlivable.
Residents said that fires have not been uncommon at the complex.
“There been five giant fires in the last 5, 6, 7 years,” resident Craig Murray told Channel 2 Action News.
Several hours later, at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, a blaze roared through the Pointe at Canyon Ridge on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs.
Sandy Springs Deputy Fire Chief Mark Duke said strong winds helped fuel the blaze.
Resident Chris Warren said he was asleep on a couch when he heard what sounded like a little girl knocking on his door. He heard yelling, saw flames and got his two dogs out of his apartment and into his car before going back a couple times to get other possessions.
“Then I went outside to watch the fire burn,” he said. Unfortunately for Warren, his possessions that he placed outside were soaked by the water runoff from the fire. Fortunately, though, he has renters’ insurance.
Ruben Brown of the American Red Cross said his organization has helped 13 families at the Sandy Springs complex, setting them up with lodging and other necessities.
Red Cross also was on the scene at the Cobb fire.
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