A massive fire at a northwest Atlanta warehouse at one point grew so intense Friday morning that it threatened the firefighters battling it from several stories in the air.
The crews had to evacuate their ladder trucks when flames got too close, Atlanta fire spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford told Channel 2 Action News. The blaze was under control by 6 a.m., but crews doused hot spots for much of the morning at the storage warehouse in the 400 block of Bishop Street.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Huge flames, a series of loud explosions and heavy plumes of smoke could be seen and heard in the area west of Atlantic Station for several hours. The fire spread to adjacent warehouses in the business strip and threatened a nearby apartment complex before it was contained.
“Flames were above the rooftops,” witness Matthew Payne told Channel 2. “It was one of the craziest things I’ve seen in a while.”
The fire was reported about 11:25 p.m. Thursday. It took 75 firefighters and multiple apparatus to bring it under control, Stafford told the news station.
The first arriving crews were unable to get inside to check for injuries until they knocked down the flames.
“There was all the explosions happening from inside the building,” Stafford said from the scene. “Unknown what those were, perhaps propane tanks.”
Stafford said they had to pull their ladder trucks back as the fire intensified.
“Because that fire moved so fast up under their ladder, and we had fire coming up under them, so they had to evacuate the ladder pretty quickly and move the apparatus because it was about to catch on fire,” he said.
During the height of the blaze, the fire department said efforts were further hampered by an impatient driver trying to access the Radiant West Midtown apartments. Crews were “in the crucial phase” of preventing fire from spreading to the complex when the vehicle “recklessly and intentionally” drove over a hose, nearly hitting a firefighter in the process, department officials said on Twitter.
“The vehicle caused damage to the hose line and the fire engine was forced to shut down to replace the line,” officials said. “Crucial minutes were lost in trying to extinguish the fire and protect the apartments.”
It was not clear if the driver was cited.
No one was reported injured, and crews did not find any occupants when they were able to search the burned buildings.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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