16 people displaced in Gwinnett apartment fire

An apartment complex fire displaced 16 people Saturday in Gwinnett County.

An apartment complex fire displaced 16 people Saturday in Gwinnett County.

Eight adults and eight children were displaced by a fire Saturday at an apartment complex in Gwinnett County, officials said.

Shortly before 7 a.m., firefighters responded to Villas de la Vista Apartments in the 900 block of Sparrows Lane in unincorporated Norcross, spokesman Justin Wilson said.

Crews found a blaze in a three-story, wood-framed building with 20 units, with five affected, Wilson said.

“Two occupied units sustained heavy damage from fire, smoke and water,” he said. “Two additional occupied units sustained moderate damage from fire and water. One unoccupied unit on the bottom floor sustained only minor water damage.”

Smoke alarms alerted sleeping residents, who evacuated the other units before crews arrived.

No injuries were reported, Wilson said. The displaced people declined assistance from the Red Cross.

The fire started in the wall space between adjacent laundry rooms on the second floor, and the cause is still under investigation.

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