Scores Of Families Displaced After Condo Fire In Clarkston

DECATUR, GA -- More than 40 people were displaced early Friday in a fire at some condominiums in the Decatur area, police officials said. The blaze erupted at the Brannon Hill condos, located in the 1000 block of Old Hampton Drive in Clarkston.

The Red Cross volunteers were on the scene to give displaced people assistance, spokeswoman Divina Mims told Patch.

"Volunteers will be meeting one -on- one with those displaced to help meet emergency needs for essentials such as shelter, food, clothing and replacement prescriptions," Mims said. "They will also follow up on the days ahead to help families work through their next steps."

DeKalb County firefighters arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. to find smoke billowing out of the structure, according to news reports.

Assistant Fire Chief Christopher Morrison said that firefighters searched for people inside the building before deciding to use containment measures.
"We took a defensive posture because of the flame involvement," Morrison told WXIA-TV." Once we made sure that there was nobody inside the structure we set of aerial streams and decided to leave the firefighters on the outside and attack it from an elevated master stream."

A young mother told a news crew on the scene that she is happy to be alive but can't shake the thought that her pet is missing. "Just wondering if the dog was OK, my other animals, my things," she told WAGA-TV. "But I'm just thankful that no one's gotten hurt."

One building with eight units was affected, DeKalb fire officials said.

This is a developing story. Please stay with Patch for the latest.

Image via DeKalb Fire / Red Cross