By Ty Tagami
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
FULTON, Ga. — Red Cross and social workers help displaced families in south Fulton.
No one was injured,but two people survived a harrowing rescue when a 24-unit condo in south Fulton County was destroyed by fire Friday.
Firefighters used a ladder truck to pluck two people from the third floor of the four-story structure, said Keith Padgett of the Fulton County Fire & Rescue Department.
One resident, Clarice Green, described the thick smoke she encountered when she climbed the stairs to the top floor to alert a neighbor.
“When I opened the door, the smoke knocked me back. It was black,” said Green, 75. She went back down the stairs and was able to warn her neighbor from a balcony.
“We look out for each other,” she said.
It’s unclear how the fire started. Two people were home in the unit where the fire started, said Padgett, who is the chief fire marshal.
“We don’t believe it was a suspicious fire, but we would like to talk to them,” he said.
The blaze destroyed all units of the privately owned Camelot Condominiums in the 5600 block of Old National Highway.
The 45-year-old wood buildings had come under a fire safety review recently. Officials deemed the clubhouse unsafe and ordered it shut down until a renovation could be completed, Padgett said.
A private fire hydrant on the property failed to work Friday despite an inspection in October that found it was operational. Firefighters lost time because they had to connect a 1,000-foot hose to a public hydrant out on Old National Highway, Padgett said.
“We had a delay,” Padgett said, adding that it was only a few minutes. He said the condos were a “total loss” and that the Red Cross and Fulton social workers were helping the 16 displaced families.
Pete Combs of AM 750 and now 95.5FM News/Talk WSB contributed to this article.
Copyright 2011 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution