BUFORD — The Gwinnett County Fire Department received an alarm call at 4:53 a.m. Friday, June 5 for a warehouse located off of Thompson Mill Road in Buford.
Fire crews responded to Carcoustics located in the 4600 block of Thompson Mill Road in Buford. The first crews arrived on the scene at 5:03 a.m. and immediately set to work accessing the situation.
After forcing entry into the facility, crews were met with heavy smoke and water flowing from the building due to the sprinkler system. Firefighters found the warehouse to be full of heavy smoke and a fire was actively burning in a row of pallet racks.
The firefighters immediately deployed attack hose lines and set about extinguishing the blaze. Additional units arrived on the scene and began searching the remainder of the facility. There were no employees at the facility when the fire started. Firefighters later made contact with employees.
The fire was contained to the warehouse area and caused extensive damage to bulk storage material. A majority of the building suffered smoke and water damage. No injuries occurred.
Fire investigators arrived and began to look for the cause of the blaze. “The fire appears accidental and was sparked by an exothermic reaction due to compressed styrofoam material used in the production process,” said Captain Tommy Rutledge, PIO.
A slew of fire crews and equipment were dispatched to the scene including six fire engines, two ladder trucks, one squad, one medic unit, one technical rescue unit, one rehab unit, one air & light unit, one medic supervisor, one battalion commander, one district commander, two fire investigators, one fire inspector, and one PIO.
— Staff Reports
