SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — At least 60 people have nowhere to call home after flames ripped through 24 units at the Camelot Condominiums on Camelot Drive in the City of South Fulton.
Channel 2’s Audrey Washington spoke with a grandmother who dropped her grandchildren from a balcony into the safety of a stranger’s arms.
Deena Mitchell said she had no other choice because the fire was just too intense and she had to save her grandchildren.
“Devastated. We lost everything,” Mitchell said.
The clothes on their backs and a stuffed animal: That’s all Mitchell and her grandchildren have left, following the massive fire.
On Wednesday afternoon, News Chopper 2 flew over the raging flames that could be seen from miles away.
“When I opened my living room door, the front door, the smoke, just -- it was unbearable,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said by the time her neighbors banged on her door and told her to get out, the fire was just too overwhelming.
She had only one choice: the balcony.
“I was screaming for help, and some guys came, and I just started dropping my grandkids, and I just jumped over the balcony,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell, her grandchildren and her pregnant daughter-in-law all escaped.
Firefighters said they rescued two men trapped on the third floor.
Paramedics rushed one of the men to Grady Memorial Hospital for burns. The other man suffered only minor injuries at the scene.
“Heavy flames visible on all three floors,” said Chief Freddie Broome, with the City of South Fulton Fire Department.
Broome said the cause of the fire is still unclear, but officials said the flames and smoke damaged 12 condos and displaced 60 people.
Washington asked the chief about the construction of the building and whether it helped fuel the flames
“These are older buildings, wood buildings, and once you get a fire, it really starts to spread aggressively,” Broome said.
As for Mitchell and her grandchildren, they’re upset and worried but also grateful.
“I thank God we’re still living. We’re here,” she said.
City officials said all of the people displaced are now at a recreation center while the Red Cross works to provide temporary hotel accommodations.
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