Storms Keep Gwinnett Fire Busy: Fires, Accidents, Trees Down

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — The Gwinnett County Fire Department stayed busy Thursday morning with storm-related incidents. In addition to several reports of wires down at various locations, Fire and Emergency Services personnel responded to trees down, a vehicle accident with injuries and smoke and fire reports.

TREE DOWN ON APARTMENT BUILDING:

Firefighters responded at 7:10 a.m., to a report of a tree down on an apartment building in the 1100 block of Club Lakes Parkway, NW in unincorporated Lawrenceville. Crews found a large-pine tree that fell through the roof on the back of the building. The tree caused extensive damage to a middle apartment unit on the top floor. An occupant was inside the apartment at the time and sustained minor injuries. Paramedics transported the occupant to the hospital for further evaluation. Firefighters secured utilities to the structure and turned the scene over to maintenance personnel.

VEHICLE ACCIDENT WITH INJURIES:

Firefighters responded at 8:24 a.m., to a report of a vehicle injury accident on I-85 N/B south of Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road in Suwanee. Crews found a tractor trailer and three passenger cars involved on arrival. Paramedics assessed a total of five patients. One was transported to GMC-L with non-life threatening injuries and four were evaluated and released at the scene. The Fire Department’s hazmat unit was requested to respond due to oil and diesel fuel leaking from the vehicles. Hazmat was able to contain the leaking product and notified the National Response Center (NRC) for environmental purposes. It is unknown if the weather played a factor in the cause of the accident. Two right lanes of the interstate were closed due to debris and equipment in the roadway. The scene was turned over to the Georgia State Patrol and State HERO for traffic control and report handling.

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SMOKE ODOR IN A RESIDENCE:

Firefighters responded at 8:38 a.m., to an occupant report of a smoke odor inside a residence in the 500 block of Hardy Ives Lane, SE in Lawrenceville. Crews checked the residence and found no sign of smoke or fire. The source of the smoke odor was believed to be an electrical short in a bathroom vent, possibly due to lightning. There was no damage to the structure and no injuries were reported.

GARAGE FIRE AT APARTMENT COMPLEX:

Firefighters responded at 8:56 a.m., to a passerby report of a garage fire at the Holland Park Apartments, 1100 block of McKendree Church Road, NW in Lawrenceville. Crews arrived to find smoke and flames showing from a detached garage structure across from Building 12. Firefighters quickly deployed fire attack hose lines and made immediate entry to control the fire and protect exposures. There was no one inside the garage at the time and no injuries were reported. The blaze caused extensive damage to two garage units and residual smoke, heat and water damage in a third adjoining unit. Two vehicles also sustained damage due to the fire. Per Fire Investigators, the blaze was sparked by a lightning strike to a nearby tree that extended to the garage via the electrical service line.

See the below photos from the scene of the garage fire.

OUTBUILDING/SHED FIRE:

Firefighters responded at 9:06 a.m., to a resident report of an outbuilding/shed on fire in the 900 block of Slash Pine Way, NW in Lawrenceville. The caller advised that lightning struck a shed behind the house and smoke was coming from the roof. Firefighters arrived to find a working fire in the attic of a 10x15 wood-frame structure. Crews deployed an attack hose line and quickly extinguished the flames with tank water. The fire was sparked by lightning that hit a nearby tree and traveled inside the building via the electrical service line. The blaze caused moderate damage to the attic. There were no injuries reported.

Photos by Gwinnett Fire Department