Residents of two dozen apartment units were forced to flee their homes Tuesday morning after a fire broke out at a DeKalb County complex.
All made it out safely before DeKalb firefighters arrived at the Spring Chase Apartments off Memorial Drive, according to fire department spokesman Capt. Dion Bentley. Flames had reached the top floor of a three-story building when crews pulled up to the complex about 4 a.m., he said.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
“Thankfully everyone was out of the building by the time we got here,” Bentley said from the scene. “We also checked the few apartments on the top floor to make sure no one was in there.”
The crews were able to get the fire under control and keep it from spreading to adjacent buildings. No injures were reported, although most of the building’s 24 units are likely to be damaged by smoke and water. One unit on the third floor was badly burned, according to Bentley.
Resident Sherisse Chatman said it’s the first fire in the eight years she’s lived at the complex. She watched as firefighters busted through her apartment door Tuesday morning while checking for hot spots.
“I’ve had a car drive through my bedroom in the eight years, but no fires,” Chatman said.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
She woke up to the sound of a neighbor screaming and blowing their car horn, then she noticed the smell of burning siding, she said. Chatman typically sleeps with her patio doors open, she said, but she closed them Monday night to keep out the sound of fireworks.
She did not know if she was hearing fireworks in the Spring Chase complex or at nearby Stone Mountain. The cause of the fire is still under investigation Tuesday, Bentley said.
Volunteers with the American Red Cross were helping the evacuated residents Tuesday morning. At least 12 families were directly impacted by the fire, but the remaining 12 units also lost power. All could be displaced as a result, the organization said.
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