UPDATED: 4:21 p.m.
Heavy rain early this morning likely contributed to a wreck
that injured three firefighters and at least one of two house fires that left
two families looking for a place to live.
The first fire, at 6095 Vickery Point in the Vickery Lake subdivision was
called in at about 5:30 this morning, at the height of the storms that rolled
through, according to Division Chief Jason Shivers with the Forsyth County Fire
Department. “There was heavy, heavy rain, and a lot of lightning. The homeowner said he felt the house shake,
heard a boom, and smelled smoke moments later.
As firefighters began to fight the flames, some of the attic space collapsed on
one of the first companies inside. “Some
of the attic space fell in, briefly trapping one of the firefighters, but he
was quickly rescued by a Rapid Intervention Team.” That firefighter was taken
to North Fulton Hospital Trauma Center for treatment.
Shivers said the home received significant damage, and that the residents, a
grandfather and grandmother, along with their three grandchildren were
displaced from the home until it can be repaired. “The Red Cross is helping them to find
temporary shelter, but they won’t be able to move back in until the house is
repaired” Shivers said. All of the
residents, including the family dog, escaped injury.
One of the engines responding to that fire, engine six, housed at fire station
six on Brookwood Road was involved in a traffic accident on Shiloh Road near Mars Hill Road, adding to the already
busy morning. “It was a single vehicle
crash…the engine left the roadway and overturned on Shiloh Road” said
Shivers. “It was at the height of the
storm, and they were even driving through a tornado warning at the time…we
cannot say for certain that the weather caused the accident, but their
certainly could be a correlation” he said.
All three firefighters were taken to North Fulton Hospital Trauma Center to be
evaluated, but the injuries were all minor.”
We buy heavy-duty, well-built custom designed high end fire engines,
which have rollover protection, crash protection and airbag systems to protect
the crew. All of those systems worked as expected, and no doubt led to the
firefighters only receiving minor injuries” said Shivers.
Shivers said the accident is under investigation, and that the data recorder on
the fire engine should add to the information investigators will have available
to determine what happened.
Firefighters also responded to a second fire, this one at 1820 Saddleridge
Drive in southern Forsyth County just after 11:00 a.m. Deputies who arrived
reported seeing flames coming from the back of the house and began evacuating
nearby neighbors.
Shivers said there were three people living in this house, although no one was
at home at the time of the fire. “There
was a mother, father, and child living here, and again the Red Cross is
assisting the family, but they have definitely been displaced by the
fire.” Shivers said the damage to this
house was more extensive, and that the cause is under investigation. “It’s possible that the weather earlier could
be a factor, but we can’t that for certain at this time” said Shivers.
As of 12:00 p.m. on Friday, all four firefighters have been released from the
hospital.
See Sunday's Forsyth County News for more on today's weather events.