Intense House Fire Sparked by Candle Knocked Over By Dog

Sign up for the Loganville-Grayson Patch newsletter!

-------

Authorities say a family dog knocked over a candle on the back deck of a Gwinnett County home Wednesday night, resulting in an intense fire that displaced a family of five.

All occupants escaped the fire and no injuries were reported.

Gwinnett Fire Lt. Jerrod Barrett said the fire was reported around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at 805 Hiram Davis Road near Lawrenceville. This is in an unincorporated area between the cities of Lawrenceville, Dacula and Grayson.

Barrett said the homeowner reported seeing smoke and flames coming from the back deck, where the pet apparently knocked over a citronella candle. The family also was alerted by smoke detectors in the house.

“When fire crews arrived on scene they found heavy smoke coming from the eves of the attic as well as flames on the rear wall of the residence,” Barrett said in an email. “They also had heavy fire involvement on the second story as well as in the attic. Crews deployed multiple attack hose lines to extinguish the fire; they also utilized an aerial ladder truck to knock down the bulk of the flames from above.”

Barrett said firefighters were forced to fight the fire from the outside due to the intense flames and possible roof collapse. The house sustained significant damage, Barrett said.

More from Gwinnett Fire:

Due to the extreme heat conditions, additional units were dispatched to the scene to help with firefighter rehab. The departments “Special Response Unit” arrived on scene to provide rehabilitation to the firefighters. This specific apparatus has the capabilities of providing rehab up to 16 to 20 firefighters at a time. Firefighters can enter the apparatus to rehydrate, rest, cool off (or warm up in the winter months) and have their vital signs monitored by Paramedics and EMT’s. Once they are rested, and rehydrated they can return to their duties.

A total of 32 fire personnel were called to the scene.

Photos: Gwinnett Fire PIO