A fire at an apartment complex in southwest Atlanta displaced at least eight people early Thursday morning, about two weeks after a serious blaze at another apartment building on the same road.
The outbreak of residential fires in the metro Atlanta area this week continued as the region experiences near-freezing temperatures for the first time in months.
Atlanta firefighters were called to the Aspen Courts Apartments just west of Fort McPherson around 12:45 a.m., Channel 2 Action News reported. They encountered a serious blaze at the Stanton Road complex but were able to quickly extinguish the flames, according to the news station. Eight people were not able to return to their apartments and received assistance from the Red Cross, Channel 2 reported.
The fire took place about two weeks after a blaze at the Pomona Park apartments, just a few hundred yards down the street. Two dozen people were displaced in that Oct. 3 incident, which happened during much warmer weather. Temperatures were in the 70s in the hours before that night’s fire.
More recently, a rash of fires has broken out as temps plunged into the 30s for the first time this fall.
“This is the time of year we do have a lot of fires that start from improper heating,” Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Jason Whidby told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Whidby’s battalion was kept busy Thursday morning as they responded to a fire at Slim’s Tire Shop at 1674 Memorial Avenue just after 4:30 a.m. While he said the colder temperatures did not appear to play a role in that incident, he warned Atlanta residents to be mindful of fire safety.
“Keep combustibles away from fires, have your HVAC systems inspected and always have a working smoke detector in your home, both inside and outside your bedroom,” said Whidby, who reported no injuries during the tire shop fire. “Carbon monoxide is also an issue this time of year. It’s great to have a carbon monoxide detector also in your home.”
On Wednesday morning, a serious house fire in South Fulton sent several people to the hospital and resulted in at least two deaths. Firefighters were sent to the Oswego Trail home just before 5 a.m. and were told multiple people were trapped inside the two-story home, South Fulton officials said.
By that evening, fire officials said two adult bodies had been recovered from the burned home and two other people remained unaccounted for.
Earlier this week, two abandoned buildings were burned in Midtown and Peoplestown. Investigators said they believed the fires were likely started by people seeking warmth and shelter from the lower temperatures Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
“Everybody starts trying to move inside that doesn’t have a place to go, using heat sources that they probably shouldn’t be using, and things like this happen,” Atlanta fire Capt. Jared Purinton said from outside the second fire scene, a charred warehouse on University Avenue. “With the cold weather moving in, there is a possibility we could see this more often here in the next few days.”
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