Six People Rescued From Apartment Fire on New Year's Eve

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — Six people were rescued from a burning apartment building in Lawrenceville on New Year's Eve.

Gwinnett County firefighters responded to the fire at Cherokee Court Apartments, on Stone Mountain Street, around 9:44 p.m. The blaze was brought under control by 10:20 p.m.

The firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke showing from the front of the building and flames coming from the back of a first-floor unit on the right side of the two-story building.

They saw a group of people signaling for help from the second-floor window of an apartment.

Firefighters deployed a ground ladder to the window to rescue the people as other crews attacked the blaze.

Six people — three adults and three children — were rescued by the ladder crew. All the victims were evaluated by paramedics for smoke inhalation and the three children were taken to the hospital for further observation.

Their injuries were described as non-life threatening. One man actually jumped from the window as firefighters were getting the ladder into position. He was detained by Lawrenceville Police for acting belligerent, fire officials said in a news release.

The release said the fire appeared accidental, and to have started in the kitchen of a first-floor apartment. The occupant of that apartment told fire investigators that he was cooking and grease ignited on the stove.

He tried to douse the flames with water, but that made the fire spread out of control. The man called 911, then began knocking on doors to alert other tenants of the building.

The blaze caused heavy fire damage to one apartment unit and extensive smoke and water damage from firefighting efforts in three adjoining units.

The American Red Cross was requested to provide assistance for occupants displaced from the building.

File photo courtesy Gwinnett County Fire & Emergency Services