DeKalb County fire officials haven’t said what sparked a predawn fire that damaged a handful of Brookhaven townhomes, but a witness who said he had a “birds-eye view” of the blaze said it appeared to have started in a gas grill.
“When I first saw it, the fire was really small,” said Michael Fisher, who lives across the street from building that caught fire around 4 a.m. at the East Club Townhomes in the 3700 block of Peachtree Road. “It started on the second floor, on the back porch, and there was a gas grill that just started going off in spurts. From there, it just began to eat tat the back of the house and engulfed the house and burned straight through to the other side.”
When the first fire crews arrived, they found heavy fire conditions and immediately called for a second alarm, DeKalb fire Battalion Chief Vera Morrison said.
Morrison said 10 units were involved, with five townhomes sustaining heavy damage. Between 15 and 20 displaced residents were being assisted by the American Red Cross, she said.
“At this point, there are no injuries, and everyone has been accounted for,” Morrison said.
Kathleen Viscusi said she was asleep when she got a phone call from the president of the complex’s homeowner’s association, telling her that her building was on fire and she needed to get out.
“As I was leaving, the police came to the door and he was knocking real hard,” said Viscusi, who has lived in her townhome for less than a month. “I asked him if I could get shoes, and he kind of pulled me out and said, ‘You have to go now.’”
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