SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Neighbors living near a South Fulton pallet manufacturing plant say they were caught off guard Sunday afternoon when a fire sent loud explosions through their neighborhood, rocking their homes, and pieces of debris flying into their yards.
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The fire started around 4:30 p.m. at the plant on Mallory Road, according to South Fulton firefighters.
Mary Mills was inside her home in the Waverly Park neighborhood when a loud boom woke her from a nap.
“When I looked out, it was smoke, a lot of black smoke,” Mills said.
Several neighbors said the explosions were so loud they initially thought something much bigger was happening.
“There were a lot of explosions at first, really, really bad, and the cloud was really dark,” neighbor Erika Allen said.
But it wasn’t just the sound and smoke that had neighbors concerned.
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Residents showed Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers pieces of metal they said flew from the fire and landed in their yards.
“There was more debris flying over here, like these little pieces of metal,” said Janeal Richardson, Mills’ daughter.
Allen said she found several pieces around her property.
“I’ve had at least three pieces of shrapnel on the side of my house, in front of my house,” she said.
Mills said a large piece of debris that was still on fire also landed near a neighbor’s yard.
“There was a big ol’ fire bomb right in front of her yard,” Mills said.
South Fulton police said the smoke was not hazardous.
But neighbors said they could smell something in the air that concerned them.
“It smells like something, more than just fire,” Allen said.
Mills said she was worried about what residents may have been breathing.
“I’m scared that the chemicals that’s floating around in the air is harmful,” she said.
South Fulton police are telling people who live in the neighborhood and surrounding areas to stay inside and keep their windows and doors closed.
People with respiratory issues are being urged to take extra precautions.
Nearly seven hours after the fire started, faint smoke could still be seen behind the trees near the neighborhood, and there were still popping noises.
Allen said she plans to keep watching the area.
“Keeping an eye on it, I probably won’t be sleeping well,” she said.
Police say if people have asthma or other respiratory issues, they need to take extra precautions.
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