EAST POINT, Ga.,None — The East Point Fire Department says that an abandoned gas pipe is to blame for an explosion that destroyed an apartment building on Thursday.
[ PHOTOS: Fire destroys E. Point apartments ]
The fire happened at the Lexington Apartments on Washington Road. News Chopper 2 flew over the scene around 2:30 p.m. as East Point firefighters worked the fire.
Numerous residents told Channel 2 there was an explosion before the fire. Jasmine Brown said she and her fiancé Carlisle Salley Jr. felt the ground shake.
"It felt like an earthquake. Like, as we were just laying there, you hear a big explosion and then, we just see the walls crack. Debris is everywhere, so we just hurried up and run out," Brown told Channel 2’s George Howell.
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Salley said his relatives smelled gas before the explosion.
“They're still in the process of gathering information before we make a conclusion on what the cause of this fire was," Acting Deputy Chief Mike Webb said.
At least eight units were destroyed in the fire, displacing 14 people. The fire was finally extinguished overnight.