120 Emergency Calls Made By Gwinnett Fire In 3 Hours Friday

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – The Gwinnett County Fire Department responded to more than 120 emergency calls between 3 and 6 p.m. Friday, including live electrical wires, trees down, house fires and smoke reports.

The Fire Command Staff began monitoring the approaching weather during the late afternoon and activated the Fire Operations War Room at Fire Headquarters and the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) at 3:10 p.m. A strong line of thunderstorms packing gusty winds, heavy rain and cloud to ground lightning moved through the southern portion of the county and prompted a severe thunderstorm warning to be issued by the National Weather Service. A second line of strong thunderstorms also moved through the County. An influx of calls into the 911 Center included: multiple reports of trees and live electrical wires down, residential fires, vehicle accidents and alarms activated. These incidents were in addition to the normal call volume for a typical Friday afternoon and evening.

The Fire Command Staff tracked and coordinated response activities from the War Room and placed an additional engine in-service from the Fire Academy. Operations personnel manned status boards in the War Room and on-duty staff units were sent to standby at wires down calls to free up emergency medical and firefighting equipment. A fire liaison was assigned to the 911 Center to assist with prioritizing calls for dispatch and station coverage. There have been no injuries or fatalities reported thus far as a result of the storm.

The following is a brief synopsis of storm related incidents handled this afternoon by Fire and Emergency Services personnel. It does not include all calls for the time period.

WIRES DOWN:
Firefighters responded to a host of live electrical wires down across the county. The appropriate utility companies were requested to respond due to the potential hazards. Some areas reported power outages due to the storm.

Additional storm response information will be sent by the Fire-PIO when available. Coordination of emergency response resources by fire, police and emergency management personnel was instrumental in successfully handling increased calls for service due to the storm.

TREES DOWN:

Below is a sampling of locations where a tree was reported to be down either in the roadway or on a structure. Significant damage has been reported in parts of the Lilburn and Snellville areas.

• Angevine Court, SW in Lilburn
• Richmond Court, SW in Lilburn
• Hale Drive, SW in Lilburn
• Glen Ridge Drive, SW in Lilburn
• Alcazar Drive, SW in Lilburn
• Cedar Wood Drive, SW in Lilburn
• Stonelake Trail, SW in Lilburn
• Hasty Court, SW in Lilburn
• Valbrook Court, SW in Lilburn
• Sugarberry Lane, SW in Lilburn
• Angie Way, SW in Lilburn
• Hunting Ridge Drive, SW in Lilburn
• Silver King Drive, SW in Grayson
• Colony Circle, SW in Snellville
• Planters Row, SW in Lilburn
• Allen Court, SW in Lilburn
• Woodfall Drive, SW in Lilburn
• Weston Way, SW in Lilburn
• Shadow Lake Drive, SW in Lilburn
• Sequoia Drive, SW in Lilburn
• Amberly Way, SW in Snellville

TREES DOWN ON A CAR:

• Singleton Road in Norcross. There were no injuries reported.
• East Main Street at Grayson Parkway in Snellville. Occupant assisted out by firefighters. No injuries reported.

HOUSE FIRES/SMOKE REPORTS:

• Waterscape Trail, SW in Snellville
  Park Estates Drive, SW in Snellville. There was heavy damage to the attic and roof of a vacant house. See photo below.
• Chancery Mill Lane, NE in Buford (Smoke Report)
• Warm Springs Court, SW in Loganville (Smoke report)

Photos courtesy Gwinnett County Fire Department