A fire that killed two people Wednesday morning at a troubled apartment complex in DeKalb County is being investigated as a “possible homicide,” authorities said.
Crews responded around 8:45 a.m. to the Brannon Hill condominiums near Clarkston after someone smelled smoke, according to DeKalb fire spokesperson Capt. Jaeson Daniels. The fire occurred in a building with eight units, but only one on the ground floor was damaged, Daniels said. When firefighters forced their way inside, they found two people dead.
Their names have not been released. They appeared to be adults, but officials have not confirmed that information.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
Bella Ridley, who has lived at the complex for a year, said she woke up around 6:30 a.m. and called the gas company after smelling what she believed were gas fumes coming from a water heater. Ridley said a responding gas company employee determined it was actually smoke, and they went to an apartment downstairs but no one answered. She later realized the smoke, which she described as light and clear, came from an apartment diagonally from her.
“If I had known that I would have knocked on the door,” she said.
Brannon Hill, a notorious and derelict facility, is among 272 of the metro area’s persistently dangerous complexes, according to an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that looked into serious crimes, lax maintenance and other hazards in Atlanta neighborhoods. There have been at least four fires at the complex since 2015. Units there were demolished in 2017 and 2019.
“These buildings are very weak and brittle and usually they burn down quickly,” Ridley said. “So I will say thank you by the grace of God, because there’s multiple people that live in that building and also have kids.”
Daniels said Atlanta Gas Light arrived at the building in the 6600 block of Baynes Hill Circle before fire officials. DeKalb police investigators were also at the scene, which was taped off. Police responded to assist with the death investigation and later stated the incident was being investigated as a possible homicide.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
Despite problems with the complex, the county has failed to fully shut it down because each condominium has its own owner. Shutting it down would require buying out each property owner.
In February, a pregnant woman died after being shot at Brannon Hill. In May 2022, three people were killed and three were wounded in another shooting at the complex. Homicides were also reported there in November 2021 and April 2017.
Crime, fires and overall unsafe conditions have plagued the complex for decades, with its problems chronicled in a YouTube video titled “Worst Neighborhood in America?”
“We deal with (things) every few months,” Ridley said. “Even though cops have cameras over here, a police officer patrols around here, it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t do anything.”
It’s unclear what started the fire, and the cause of death for the two victims has not been determined, authorities said.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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