A woman was startled from sleep Thursday morning by Gwinnett County firefighters who were banging at her door, urgently trying to get inside to extinguish a blaze.
Crews responded to a small apartment building on Spruce Circle just outside Snellville shortly before 9 a.m., fire spokesperson Capt. Ryan McGiboney said. A 911 caller reported seeing smoke coming out of the windows and roof of one of the units, and no one was answering the door.
When firefighters arrived, they confirmed there was a blaze in the apartment and knocked on the door but ended up having to force their way in, McGiboney said. The fire was extinguished within 15 minutes, and no injuries were reported. Two units were damaged, however, displacing four adults and six pets.
Pauline Bush, who had been asleep on the couch in the downstairs portion of the apartment, said she didn’t hear any fire alarms go off. Bush was house-sitting for a couple of days and taking care of two dogs and two cats, she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as she stood outside the building with some of the pets.
“It’s scary to wake up not knowing what’s going on,” she said. “(I’m) shaking. A little scared. I want to cry.”
McGiboney said the American Red Cross of Georgia will provide assistance to the displaced residents.
No working fire alarms were found in the apartment, McGiboney said. Investigators determined the cause was electrical.
About an hour later, Gwinnett crews were called to an unrelated fire at a Moe’s Southwest Grill about 2½ miles away on Stone Mountain Highway.
When firefighters arrived at the restaurant, they found smoke exiting from the roof, McGiboney said. The fire was located in the kitchen area, and crews were able to put it out quickly. The restaurant’s extinguishment system had kept the fire under control until firefighters arrived, he added. It was determined to be a cooking fire.
Eight surrounding businesses were evacuated, but the fire was isolated to Moe’s, McGiboney said.
“This being fire safety month, we want to remind everybody to make sure not only that you’re practicing fire safety in the home, but also that you’re training your business workers in fire safety,” McGiboney said.
