Family Displaced After Early Morning Fire From BBQ Grill

BUFORD, GA – A family is displaced after an early morning fire Sunday, including two adults, two children and one dog. Firefighters responded at 5:29 a.m. to a report of a house fire in the 1000 Block of Island Ford Road NE in unincorporated Buford.

Fire crews arrived on scene to find a single-story residence with heavy fire involvement in the rear of the home. All occupants had evacuated prior to arrival and were safely outside. Fire attack hose lines were quickly deployed to the rear of the structure to knock down the bulk of the fire. Additional crews deployed hose lines through the front door of the residence to complete extinguishment and conduct a primary search. The majority of the fire was contained to the back porch with extension into the kitchen area of the home. The kitchen suffered moderate fire damage with smoke damage throughout the home. No injuries were reported.

Occupants were alerted to the fire by a loud noise and upon investigation found the fire on the back porch. Smoke detectors were present in the home but due to the location of the fire, did not activate. The occupants declined Red Cross assistance and will be staying with family in the area. The family displaced includes two adults, two children and one dog.

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The occupants of the home reported utilizing a BBQ grill on the back porch the past two nights and discarding the ashes in a bucket on the porch. A Fire Investigator responded to the scene and determined the origin and cause was improperly disposed ashes from the BBQ grill on the porch.

"Daylight Savings Time is a good time to remember to change the battery in your smoke alarms," said Gwinnett Fire Spokesman Justin Wilson. A working smoke alarm is your first line of defense when it comes to surviving a home fire. Smoke alarms are designed to give added time to escape when a fire breaks out. You may only have two-minutes or less to escape a home fire."

Equipment at the scene included: three engines, one truck, one squad, one air/light unit, one medic unit, one rehab unit, one battalion chief and one fire investigator.

Photos courtesy Gwinnett County Fire Department