AUBURN — The Gwinett County Fire Department received a call at approximately 11:09 p.m. that a home in the 3500 block of Tupelo Trail NE in Auburn was on fire. The caller reported flames in the garage that were spreading to the vehicles in the driveway.
Upon arrival, firefighters found the two-story home on a basement heavily involved in flames. Finding that the fire was quickly spreading to other areas of the home, crews deployed attack hoses and set about knocking down the fire on the inside of the home. Fire crews put out flames above the garage and put out a fully engulfed vehicle in the driveway.
The fire caused extensive damage to the first floor of the home and the second floor suffered heavy smoke damage. The basement sustained heavy water damage. Inside the garage, one vehicle was completely destroyed along with a pickup truck in the driveway. An additional vehicle in the driveway had moderate damage.
The caller to 911 had stated that everyone had escaped the house and after a thorough search, firefighters found no victims inside the home. Two adults and four children escaped without injury but it is believed that two lizards did not survive.
“According to a resident, he was upstairs when the smoke alarms alerted occupants. He checked the basement and then returned to the main level and found smoke coming from the garage,” said Lieutenant Justin Wilson with the Gwinnett County Fire Department. “Upon making entry into the smoke-filled garage, he could see the fire in the back-left corner and attempted to extinguish with a fire extinguisher from the doorway. When the extinguisher was ineffective, he left the home and attempted to extinguish with a garden hose from the exterior but was unsuccessful.”
A fire investigator arrived on the scene and said that the fire started in the back-left corner of the garage. The exact cause of the fire is unknown. An electrical fire has not been ruled out.
Four engines, a ladder truck, one squad, one air & light unit, two medic units, two battalion chiefs, a fire investigator and a PIO all responded to this fire.
— Staff Reports
