Gwinnett Firefighters Respond to Storm Calls

Gwinnett firefighters were kept busy responding to calls during the severe thunderstorm that moved through the county between 6:45 and 8:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Fire/Emergency Services units responded to a total of 124 incidents within an hour and a half time period, Capt. Tommy Rutledge reported. The calls ranged from vehicle accidents with injuries, live electrical wires down, possible fires due to lightning, trees down on houses, woods fires, and alarm activated calls, he said.

“Just to note, the fire department normally runs 200 to 250 incidents in a 24-hour period. That shows how busy we actually were due to the storm,” Rutledge said. According to 911 operators, there were 535 calls per hour coming in to the 911 Center at the height of the storm, he said.

Rutledge reported the most significant incidents were trees down: 

TREES DOWN ON STRUCTURES: 

• 3000 Dowry Drive NW in Lawrenceville. Lady inside the house was not injured.
• 3138 Sloping Terrace SW in Snellville. Occupants displaced due to damage of their townhome. No injuries reported. 
• 2800 block of Cardinal Lake Drive NW in Duluth. Crews found a house with significant damage. Occupants were home at the time and escaped unharmed. They were displaced due to the damage. 
• 1000 block of Saw Grass Court SW in Lilburn. Crews found a tree that fell on the house over the garage area. There were no injuries.

TOWNHOME FIRE: 

• A townhome fire on Plantation Trace Drive in Duluth has been ruled storm-related (possible lightning strike), according to the incident commander. The blaze damaged two townhome units in a two-story building.

STAFF/WAR ROOM UPDATE:

• The department activated its emergency operations plan and command staff officers reported to the fire operations "War Room" center at fire headquarters. Staff personnel were used to respond to downed power lines until the power company arrived. Units established a safety perimeter to keep people from contacting the energized lines.
• Gwinnett County road maintenance crews were deployed to cut trees that blocked roadways. Firefighters, emergency dispatchers, police officers, and other county staff worked tirelessly to respond and mitigate storm-related incidents throughout the evening hours. Crews continued to handle storm related incidents until 11 p.m.

There were numerous other incidents that were not included in this report, Rutledge said.