Warehouse fire sends plastic fumes into nearby homes

ATLANTA — Atlanta firefighters hope to be able to walk through a destroyed warehouse Monday and try to determine what might have caused a massive fire Sunday afternoon.

Channel Two Action News photographer Dante Tinsley captured video of large flames shooting from the building at 1319 Mayson Turner Road.

Firefighters said they had to take a defensive posture because the building was already damaged from a previous fire in 2011.
 
Atlanta Fire Rescue Battalion Chief James McLemore said the warehouse was filled with paper and plastics left over from a previous business.

Crews worked overnight to put out stubborn hot spots that kept flaring up.

The burning combustibles sent a thick, black smoke pouring through nearby apartment complexes and homes.

Residents scrambled to close doors and find places where it was easier to breathe.

Bobbie Samples sprayed Lysol through her apartment, hoping to get rid of the smell.

"It helps a lot," Samples said. "You need an asthma pump for it, it was just that bad."

As the flames roared for nearly two hours, the smoke could be seen for miles.

It even brought onlookers from other counties to see what was burning.

South Cobb resident Willie Jackson said he saw the smoke from his home "and just decided to trace it down over here."

Jackson said he'd only seen a fire that big on TV and wanted to check it out in person.

Firefighters said the fire burned the building and some adjoining woods, but no other structures were affected.

The heavy smell of smoke remained, but Samples had a plan to get rid of it.

"Just leave the windows open for a while and pray the lord sends some wind through here to clear it out," she said.

WSBTV