Improperly discarded fireworks are to blame for a house fire in Buford that took place just after midnight on Tuesday, July 5, authorities said.

A neighbor called 9-1-1 at 12:40 a.m. and told dispatch that the side of their neighbor’s home in the 1300 block of Shirley Drive in Buford was on fire and that everyone had been evacuated.

Firefighters arrived to find a one-story home with an active fire that had begun to spread into the garage and the attic space. Crews set out to knock down the fire with two attack hoses while also performing a search to confirm that no one was inside of the home.

“The family reported that they had been shooting fireworks and when it started raining all trash from the fireworks was thrown into a plastic trashcan and placed near the house,” Brian Gaeth, fire information officer with Gwinnett County said. “Some of the debris was not fully extinguished allowing the fire to develop and spread up the exterior of the home.”

The residents of the home that caught fire was alerted to the fire by their neighbors before their smoke alarms went off and everyone had safely evacuated the residence. The residents of the home declined help from the Red Cross and advised fire crews that they would stay with family while repairs to the home were being made.

Responding to the scene were three engines, two ladder trucks, one squad, one medic unit, a chief officer and one air and light unit.