Atlanta FFs Evacuate Homes after Blast Starts Major Fire

Oct. 4, 2019
Crews also stopped trains as flames shot in the air as high as 100 feet from the fire that ensued following an explosion at a pallet warehouse early Friday.

Multiple homes in southeast Atlanta were evacuated overnight after an explosion caused a major fire at a nearby pallet facility, authorities said. 

Firefighters responded to the Pallet Depot on Sawtell Avenue about 2:40 a.m. Friday, Atlanta fire spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said. 

“It’s a business with a heavy load of wooden pallets that they move in and out,” he told reporters at the scene.

He said when firefighters arrived, about 60% of the warehouse was engulfed in flames.

“Our units reported flames shooting 70 to 100 feet in the air,” Stafford said. 

Because the fire was so large, authorities evacuated nearby homes as a precaution. 

No homes were damaged in the blaze, but the fire did spread to one backyard, he said. Firefighters also stopped trains from running on a track near the facility, authorities said. 

No injuries were reported. The fire has been contained, but some firefighters are still on scene extinguishing hot spots, Stafford said.

The cause of the blaze is still undetermined, according to the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department.

The fire is one of two blazes crews are battling in metro Atlanta on Friday morning.

There is a massive structure fire in an industrial district on Riverview Road, which is north of Bolton Road and east of I-285 in Cobb County, according to Channel 2 Action News. 

RELATED: Massive structure fire rages near I-285 in Cobb County

Riverview Road “will be closed for a good part of the day” between South Cobb Drive and Veterans Memorial Highway as crews try to contain the blaze, county officials said in a tweet just after 9 a.m. Police urge people to avoid the area.

— Please return to AJC.com for updates.

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©2019 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.)

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