Atlanta firefighter saves American flag from American Legion fire

An American flag was found untouched in the veterans’ meeting room and was saved before the building was fully engulfed in flames

March 20, 2019 10:39 AM

Chelsea Prince
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Crews responding to a massive blaze at an American Legion lodge in DeKalb County found the building empty Wednesday morning, but one firefighter still made a daring save.

An American flag was found untouched in the veterans’ meeting room and was saved before the building was fully engulfed in flames, Channel 2 Action News reported.

It took crews two hours to get the fire under control at the building on Pine Valley Road near Tucker, according to the news station. When they arrived on scene just before 4 a.m., they were met with challenges.

A tin roof made firefighting efforts difficult, DeKalb County fire Capt. Dion Bentley told Channel 2 from the scene.

“We also had burglar bars, which are great for keeping criminals out,” he said. “But as far as interior firefighter activity, we had to remove those burglar bars before we could really advance our hose lines inside.”

They were still putting out hot spots at 6:30 a.m., the news station reported. Most of the building, which was built in the early 1950s, has completely collapsed.

https://twitter.com/NatalieFFOX5/status/1108313434565816320

———