Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Cigarette Started Fire at Apartment Complex

Sunday morning fire at the Lake Sweetwater Apartments damaged eight units - resulting in one person hurt and one cat being rescued. Investigators say fire was accidental - no arrests to be made.

UPDATE: From Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services

Gwinnett Fire investigators determined that the early morning fire at Lake Sweetwater Apartments that displaced 14 was accidental.  The fire was called out just after 7 a.m.   Investigators gathered information from the resident / visitor that lead to the conclusion that the fire was ignited after a cigarette was discarded in a plastic pail.  The pail was located on a wooden deck on the back of the fire building which in turn caught fire and progressed to the apartment units.  No arrests will be made for this incident. No identification of responsible party has been made available.

One person was sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation from a Sunday morning fire that damaged eight units at the in unincorporated Lawrenceville.

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The apartments are located at 3100 Sweetwater Road.

According to Gwinnett Fire Lt. Colin Rhoden, 14 people were displaced by the fire, which was reported by a 911 caller around 7 a.m. The fire was under control before 8 a.m.

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Rhoden reported heavy damage to second-floor apartments on the backside of the building. Residents from 14 units were evacuated. No other injuries were reported. The person sent to the hospital was a female, according to the report.

 “There is a bit of comforting news,” Rhoden said in an emailed press release. “A cat was rescued from the most heavily involved apartment unit, the cat appears to be in good health and firefighters will get the assistance of Animal Control to unite the cat with its family.”

Rhoden said firefighters found the heavy smoke and fire coming from the second floor and attic. They went door-to-door to evacuate residents; Rhoden said all residents at home during the incident were evacuated.

“During the evacuation phase of the fire, firefighter/paramedics treated a female patient for smoke inhalation and transported her to the hospital,” Rhoden wrote in the press release.

Rhoden said the cause of the fire is under investigation.


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