DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News received exclusive video of massive flames and smoke billowing as DeKalb County fire trucks arrived on scene at Silver Oak Apartments in Clarkston.
“I was about to take a shower, then I heard these explosions,” neighbor Kadija Diarra said. “I thought it was fireworks outside. Then l looked out the window and I can see the smoke, everything was black.”
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The sound of “explosions” outside Diarra’s apartment home was from multiple vehicles on fire and one of them was hers.
“The instinct was to put on the pants on and run to save my car. Sister said no, no, do not do that,” she recalled.
DeKalb fire crews got the call around 5 p.m.
When the first crews arrived, they called in for back-up initially thinking one of the nearby buildings might be on fire or catch on fire.
Once the smoked cleared out, it revealed six vehicles burned through and through.
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Next to the debris, a downed tree, and a snapped and charred power pole. Channel 2 Action News reporter Veronica Griffin learned the downed pole knocked out electricity to two nearby buildings.
Saturday evening, Georgia Power crews could be seen working to restore power to those buildings, however, we learned apartment management will still need to make repairs on their end.
That means no power tonight for the folks living in two of the buildings affected.
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While no one was injured here, the victims who no longer have a vehicle to drive are hoping to recover their losses.
“I hope so because I really need it you know. This is Georgia, you really need a car,” Diarra said.
While fire investigators believe the downed tree is likely weather related, the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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