DeKalb County

Fire destroys DeKalb condo building, displacing families

By Carl Willis
By Carl Willis

LITHONIA, Ga. — Several families are out of a home after condo fire ripped through their complex.

It was just after 4:30 p.m. Thursday when neighbors said they had to evacuate their homes in the Fontaine East condos in Lithonia.

"I open the door and couldn't see anything. It was just full of smoke in the hallway," resident Arthidrea Williams told Channel 2’s Carl Willis.

Residents believe that the destruction was caused by an electrical problem. 

Williams said she found out what was happening thanks to frantic knocking at her door.

"I was, like, ‘Oh my God,’ and you just try to save everybody, just hope everybody made it out," Williams told Willis.

"Everybody" includes Kenneth Harrison, the father of 1-year-old twins, who said he is holding them tighter after Thursday's fire.

"All I knew (to) ...  do is get my kids out of there," Harrison said. "It was the front end of the building but it started picking up toward the back."

Eight units were damaged, two heavily.

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Residents believe that the destruction was caused by an electrical problem. They said there was a repairman out earlier in the day to fix the building's lighting.

"They finally came today and you see what happened,” Harrison said.

"We need to really get in there and dig it out and see if that's what really happened," said Capt. Eric Jackson with DeKalb County Fire and Rescue.

Jackson said the fire crew had to breach the roof of the condo to keep the fire from running through the building.

That's how they managed to keep the flames from spreading beyond the eight units and devastating even more residents like Williams.

"It's unbelievable. You think it won't happen to you and then it does," Williams said.

The Red Cross is helping to provide shelter for those who need it. No one was injured in the fire.

Cox Media Group

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