24 apartments destroyed in massive Sandy Springs fire

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Firefighters responded to a massive fire at an apartment complex in Sandy Springs that destroyed 24 units Wednesday afternoon.

We first broke this story on Channel 2 Action News at Noon after viewers called to report a large plume of smoke in the area of North River Parkway.

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NewChopper 2 was over the scene at the Azalea Park apartments around 12:20 p.m., where flames and black smoke were pouring out of building 19′s roof.

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The Sandy Springs fire chief confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that everyone was able to get out of the building and no one was hurt.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot talked to a woman who said she escaped the fire with her boyfriend.

Briana Stowe said she and her boyfriend, Malik Thomas, were asleep in their third-floor apartment went they smelled smoke. Thomas went to check the front door, where he immediately saw the roof collapsing and flames

“I was scared. I was terrified,” Stowe said. “I don’t know how we even made it out.”

Stowe and Thomas decided to climb down from their third-floor balcony, even as their ceiling was collapsing in flames behind them. Thomas made it down first and then helped Stowe.

“I was dangling off the building, and then I tried to jump,” Stowe said. “I made it to the second level and then I had to climb down and they caught my leg and pulled me down.”

Amazingly, no one was hurt.

“Everybody got out okay. There are no injuries,” firefighter Matt McGinnis said. “Our fire department did a great job. We had three rescues off balconies from individuals who could not get down.”

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