A home was badly damaged and a dog died in a Dacula house fire that may have been sparked by the lights on a family’s live Christmas tree.

None of the three people inside was seriously injured in the blaze at the two-story wood house on Fort Daniels Drive on Thursday morning, Gwinnett County fire spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge said.

The fire caused heavy damage to the home’s second floor where the tree was located.

One of the occupants said she heard a loud popping sound and went into the hallway to investigate, then saw a glow in the direction of the Christmas tree and dense smoke filling the second floor, Rutledge said

According to firefighters, several of the smoke alarms inside the home had no batteries. There was one working smoke alarm found on the lower level outside the bedrooms.

About the Author

Featured

Inventor Lonnie Johnson stands with his Super Soaker water guns at JTEC Energy on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. Johnson, a former NASA engineer, is currently working on a new energy technology through his company’s JTEC device that turns thermal heat into usable energy. (Natrice Miller/AJC)