Fire Damages Douglasville Apartments

Authorities are trying to figure out what sparked a fire at a Douglasville apartment complex. via WXIA-TV Atlanta

[ThgLfe]

that looks a little bit more than "damaged"

[Anika]

I live in the apartment right across from where the fire happened.
I walked everyday through the tennis court looking up to those apartments... it's so weird they're not there anymore and you can lose almost everything in a blink of an eye.

Thank god & the firefighters that the fire did not spread to our building.
And no one in those apts. got hurt or injured.

We would be totally homeless and lose everything if it did spread.
Never in my life have I seen a fire that big.
I feel truly sorry for those who lost their homes and things.

[ng_speaking]

Thank God everyone got out safe. My prayers to all.

[x dville x]

I think 20 units were destroyed! Yes, that is pretty bad!

[letsbefrank]

When will people learn to get apartment insurance, its fairly cheap and if this happens the insurance will pay for you to stay in a nice hotel while they help you get on your feet. I am not an insurance salesman but have seen many who are devastated by this type of catastrophe. Get insurance.

[hmmmm]

Anika wrote:

I live in the apartment right across from where the fire happened.
I walked everyday through the tennis court looking up to those apartments... it's so weird they're not there anymore and you can lose almost everything in a blink of an eye.
Thank god & the firefighters that the fire did not spread to our building.
And no one in those apts. got hurt or injured.
We would be totally homeless and lose everything if it did spread.
Never in my life have I seen a fire that big.
I feel truly sorry for those who lost their homes and things.

A nik a , hmmmmm. Lives in an Apartment, no way.....section 8? guaranteed! from Clayton, Fulton, Dekalb Co., or New Orleans - priceless

[Kathy]

Wakeing up to the sight of the whole building in flames and seeing all the people standing in total shock was so sad. I live two buildings away from the apartment that was destroyed. I couldn't go back to sleep thinking how peoples lives can change in an instant. Thank God for the quick actions of the fire fighters that everyone made it out without any loss of life.

[Charles Farley]

Remember how fast these particle board wonders went up? They build thin, cheap structures and then fill them with people. But do they really care about the potential for fast spreading fire? I'd hate to find out there's a slack spot in the local codes that someone looked over in the name of "progress" or to line some croney's wallet.

CF

[jtg]

thank god no people or animals were hurt. the lord and community will take care of these people. it puts things into perspective.

[x dville x]

hmmmm wrote:

<quoted text>
A nik a , hmmmmm. Lives in an Apartment, no way.....section 8? guaranteed! from Clayton, Fulton, Dekalb Co., or New Orleans - priceless

You couldn't be more wrong. I think there are more section 8 houses in Douglasville than apartments. Why? home owners needing to move or on the brink of losing their houses with no other options.

Let's compare: apartment- no yard work, no maintenance, swimming pool and playground.

House-crazy market, constant work, up keep and expenses beyond the mortgage payment. No amenities.

Bad neighbors are everywhere!

I own a house - and I wonder what life would be like in an apartment...could I lounge around a pool all weekend instead of mowing grass?

BTW - renter's insurance is a must and it really isn't that much money - for a few bucks a month it is worth it.

[ROnnie]

probably one of the cribs had a meth lab get out of hand

[Pyssed]

i live right across the pond and was watching the whole fire from my bed. its really scary how fast that section went up.
wife woke me up after hearing all the sirens. she saw an orange light and yelled the building across the way is on fire. now at this point only the top left corner ( from my view was on fire ). fire trucks still at the gate. then the whole top apartment is fully engulfed ... trucks still at the gate. fire spreads to the floor below, trucks still at the gate. start seeing more and more blue flames from the top 2 apartments, top floor is just about skeleton now ... trucks still at the gate. now the whole left side ( again, from my perspective is fully in flames and you can see the roof line starting to spread)... we can see the trucks finally moving through the gate.
id guess total time passed ... about 7 to 9 minutes tops. the 2 points im trying to make is ... what was the hold up at the gate and more importantly ... what the hell are those buildings made of and is mine, the newer building, made of the same thing. even when the trucks got there and started pouring on the water .... it was like the fire was saying we dont fear no water because the fire just would not die down.
another issue of the timing is im not sure if it was a second round of searching or what, but we heard the knocking on the doors. im guessing it was for the people at the right side of the building ... this was after the top floor on the left had already started falling down and the containment stream had been in place for a while. i can only guess that the firemen themselves felt they was something going on with this fire and felt they were on the verge of losing containment.
kinda strange in a way, but it could just be perception. my wife brought up a good point about them already tearing down the damaged aspect which lead me to this page ... i was trying to find out if they had found and listed a cause of the fire because it unusual for them to go to the demolishing stage without having cited a cause.

[Battou]

My apartment _was_ 213. If you look at the apartments from the lake it's the one in the middle level right next to the destroyed section.
We were only given a short window the next day to get our stuff and get out, and let me tell you it was a complete mess. The roof in the apartment above mine was gone, and so my ceiling had become the new roof. Everything was covered in orange soot water. Everything electronic was destroyed, any pictures on the walls were gone, a complete mess. Every apartment above and next to mine was completly and utterly destroyed.
But hey, life goes on. Everyone in the building had renters insurance, as is demanded by the office, and for good reason. The apartment staff handled everything with great care and did an amazing job. I really have to thank the fire dept., police, red cross, apt. staff, and friends and family who chipped in.
I've heard a possible theory about the cause but at that point it wasn't official, so I won't mention it here.

[x dville x]

Battou wrote:

My apartment _was_ 213. If you look at the apartments from the lake it's the one in the middle level right next to the destroyed section.
We were only given a short window the next day to get our stuff and get out, and let me tell you it was a complete mess. The roof in the apartment above mine was gone, and so my ceiling had become the new roof. Everything was covered in orange soot water. Everything electronic was destroyed, any pictures on the walls were gone, a complete mess. Every apartment above and next to mine was completly and utterly destroyed.
But hey, life goes on. Everyone in the building had renters insurance, as is demanded by the office, and for good reason. The apartment staff handled everything with great care and did an amazing job. I really have to thank the fire dept., police, red cross, apt. staff, and friends and family who chipped in.
I've heard a possible theory about the cause but at that point it wasn't official, so I won't mention it here.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am so thankful to hear that everyone had renter's insurance!

[bjf]

Not everyone had insurance. I rented apt 215 11 months ago. The manager told me that an insurance agent would contact me. No one ever did. I travel frequently and never thought about apt insurance again until I was notified by one of my workers that the apartment had burned. I lost around $2,000 of furniture and work gear. My co-worker lost all his personnal stuff. Bader says that the fire was started by a smoking cigarette. I'll find out who's liable and see them in small claims court.

[not so fast lease breaker]

bjf wrote:

Not everyone had insurance. I rented apt 215 11 months ago. The manager told me that an insurance agent would contact me. No one ever did. I travel frequently and never thought about apt insurance again until I was notified by one of my workers that the apartment had burned. I lost around $2,000 of furniture and work gear. My co-worker lost all his personnal stuff. Bader says that the fire was started by a smoking cigarette. I'll find out who's liable and see them in small claims court.

You broke your lease, so be careful - you were required to have "renter insurance" as it was YOUR responsibility when you signed the lease. So sue carefully cause a countersuit may fly right back at you!

[All grown up]

bjf wrote:

Not everyone had insurance. I rented apt 215 11 months ago. The manager told me that an insurance agent would contact me. No one ever did. I travel frequently and never thought about apt insurance again until I was notified by one of my workers that the apartment had burned. I lost around $2,000 of furniture and work gear. My co-worker lost all his personnal stuff. Bader says that the fire was started by a smoking cigarette. I'll find out who's liable and see them in small claims court.

You or your room mate could have followed up/found your own agent though, right?

[Hykos]

You're never "required" to have renters insurance in an apartment. And I've never heard of a property that provides you with insurance or has someone contact you. At best they have some brochures in the office or contact info for local agents. It's up to you square away your own coverage, if you want it.

Even if someone is at fault, their insurance doesn't cover your loss and they are not liable. Your lease agreement will probably state something along those lines as well.

You might get something out of small claims, but I doubt it. Sorry for your loss, but it's common sense to get your own insurance.

[bjf]

not so fast lease breaker wrote:

<quoted text>
You broke your lease, so be careful - you were required to have "renter insurance" as it was YOUR responsibility when you signed the lease. So sue carefully cause a countersuit may fly right back at you!

Not sure that I'm a "lease breaker". The apartment manager told me after the fire that she had put me in Bader's "system" to be covered by insurance after I signed my lease. She told me that I would be contacted. For whatever reason, I wasn't. All of our lost is replaceable. I really feel for all the residents there. I hope they get some satisfaction from their insurance claims. My experience with insurance companies is that at the most, they will give these people minimal help. Thankful there was no one injured or killed. Next time, I will make sure of insurance requirements.

[bjf]

Also, my co-worker told me that he watched from the parking lot the fire move thru the building while the fire trucks were stopped at the gates. He said they were there for 10 minutes. For current residents at Wesley Pond, find out why there was delayed arrival of the fire department. That fire engine could have easily pushed thru that gate. Better to sacrifice one fire engine bumper than 20 apartments.