DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County fire crews responded to the scene of an apartment fire early Wednesday morning.
Channel 2 Action News learned the fire at Sonoma Ridge Apartments in the 1000 block of Brook View Avenue may have been sparked by a Christmas tree.
Neighbors said a man on the second floor brought out his burning Christmas tree onto that balcony and was throwing cups of water on it.
"Flames kept coming up after he sprayed and so therefore we went back and we realized, and we started banging on doors trying to get out who we could,” said neighbor Ricky Davis.
It was too late, the fire already reached the walls and the ceiling.
Other neighbors grabbed fire extinguishers and tried putting it out from the third-floor balcony directly above.
"And we were spraying, spraying it, and as we were spraying it realized the fire was still coming up from the bottom,” Davis said.
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The fire climbed the outside of the building from the second floor to the third floor, then into the attic space. Once it got up there, firefighters were able to keep it from jumping this breezeway and spreading to the rest of the building.
Davis said one woman came outside when he banged on her door, but then saw her go back inside the burning building.
"The smoke got so heavy and I couldn't stay on the third floor anymore and I didn't see her. Until a little bit later and I saw her and I just praise God because I thought she didn't make it so, but she did and you told me everyone else made it, so God is good,” Davis said.
Firefighters said 12 units were destroyed and no one was hurt. The Red Cross is providing help to more than 50 people who were displaced.
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