2 separate fires force Gwinnett hotel’s evacuation
Two fires broke out in a hotel near Gwinnett Place Mall on Saturday afternoon, causing between 100 and 150 occupants to be evacuated, officials said.
One of the fires appears to have been started by food left on a stove in a sixth-floor room of Extended Stay America hotel on Venture Parkway in Duluth, said Gwinnett County Fire Lt. Jerrod Barrett.
The cause of the other fire in a third-floor room hadn’t been determined and remained under investigation, he said.
The hotel suffered some water damage, and occupants on the fifth and sixth floors had to find other accommodations for the night, Barrett said. Visitors staying on the first through fourth floors were able to return to their rooms, with the exception of one room.
Firefighters initially responded to a report that someone smelled smoke in the hotel, Barrett said.
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
