Fire near downtown Atlanta sends plume over city
A fire at an abandoned building southeast of downtown Atlanta sent a plume of smoke over the city Thursday evening.
A resident in a nearby condo noticed smoke from her living room window at around 7 p.m. and went outside to watch.
"I just stepped out on the balcony and heard a boom and then a few seconds later everything caught on fire," Melissa Akinlawon told the AJC.
The fire burned at a property at the intersection of Hill Street and Englewood Avenue, according to an Atlanta Fire Department dispatcher.
Akinlawon said the fire started in an abandoned building, and spread into a weed-choked junkyard littered with old cars.
Several firetrucks appeared on the scene within minutes, and quickly doused the fire, Akinlawon said. By 8 p.m., it appeared to be out, she said.
Akinlawon was thankful for the quick response. Only a fence separates the junkyard from the grounds of her condo building, and she imagined the fire spreading.
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
