Fire Damages Home on Pineridge

Firefighters were able to prevent a Wednesday night fire from destroying the whole house.

  Firefighters called to a house on Pineridge Drive in Lilburn Wednesday night found a blaze coming up from the half-basement of the woodframe house. They were able to extinquish the fire before it consumed the structure. No one was at home when the fire started, and a neighbor alerted the fire department, Gwinnett Fire Department Spokesman Tommy Rutledge said in an email. No injuries were reported. The occupants of the house returned home as the firefighters were working. The fire caused damage to the floor of the main level and to wooden supports. The interior of the basement was moderately damaged, Rutledge said. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

• Photos (1)

Illegal Fireworks Cause Fire at Gwinnett Businesses

Two Lawrenceville businesses were damaged by fire and smoke Thursday morning.

Gwinnett County Fire Investigators believe illegal fireworks caused damage to two business in Lawrenceville.  Crews were called to World Finance and Las Canas at a shopping plaza at 1956 Duluth Hwy. at 4:35 a.m. Thursday. When they got there, they found smoke and fire coming from the center of the roof. They were able to quickly extinguish the fire on the roof. The roof over World Finance suffered minor damage. That business also had minor damage inside due to fire and water used as firefighters fought the flames. Las Canas also suffered minor damage and the front glass door was broken as firefighters forced it open. Investigators say the illegal bottle rocket fireworks landed on the roof of the building, igniting the fire. The fireworks …

• Photos (1)

Around the Region: Woman Shot While Driving on I-75, Model Rocket Ignites Fire in Park and Memorial Service Scheduled for Boys Killed in Boating Collision

A look at top Patch stories from around Georgia.

Woman Victim of Random Shooting on I-75 – Buckhead Patch Atlanta Police say a California woman visiting the metro area for her son’s baseball tournament was the victim of a random shooting while driving along I-75 near Northside Drive early Friday morning. According to APD spokesman John Chafee, Kimberly Taylor and her husband flew in from Los Angeles around midnight to see their 17-year-old son’s games in Cobb County. Having rented a vehicle, the couple was driving north along the interstate when “an unidentified black male leaned out of the passenger side window of a vehicle that was to the left and in front of them and fired several rounds from a handgun into their car.” The bullets entered through the windshield and struck Taylor in …

• Photos (1)

Fire Reported Near Park Crossing Way

No injuries; 1 adult and 3 children displaced due to the incident

At 6:54 p.m. Sunday, Gwinnett County Fire and Rescue responded to a 911 call for a fire in the kitchen of an apartment in the 1700 block of Park Crossing way in Lilburn.  Upon arrival at 6:59 p.m., units found nothing showing; crews established positive water and immediately entered the building to conduct a search. The fire was found behind the stove and was quickly extinguished, but not before some minor interior damage was incurred. Firefighters made short work of the blaze; reporting that it was under control by 7:17 p.m. According to the media release, "Occupant stated that she was cooking earlier and moved the grease to an unused burner on the stove." She then went to lay down. A relative returned to the smoke-filled house and told …

• Photos (1)

The Lilburn Meth House Story So Far

Follow the links for our coverage of the Lilburn Meth House story, from the tragic fire in February 2011 that claimed the lives of three children, to Wednesday's demolition of the house.

'Incendiary Substance' Detected at GYN-OB Fire

FBI investigate Lilburn fire, and another in Marietta, as possible arsons.

Sunday's early morning fire at a Lilburn gynecology/obstetrics office, and another similar fire Wednesday in Marietta, could be the work of arsonists, FBI officials said Wednesday night. According to a report by the Gwinnett Daily Post, citing a press release, FBI Atlanta investigators said "an incendiary substance" was detected by a K-9 at Atlanta GYN-OB on Pleasant Hill Road, where the fire caused significant interior damage, according to Gwinnett Fire officials. Lab tests are pending. On Wednesday, a fire was reported at the Alpha Group GYN in Marietta, also believed by the FBI to be possible arson. Nobody was injured in either fire. FBI agents are looking for a man who was spotted near the scene as a potential witness in connection …

• Photos (1)

Cell Tower Reconstruction Aimed for April 2012

All carriers are working on having mobile carriers until then, representative said.

Reconstruction for the Rockbridge Road cell tower on that caught fire earlier this month won't take place until late April of 2012, said a representative for Crown Castle, the company that built the cell tower. "We're working closely with the county officials and the [cell phone] carriers to take down the existing structure and replace that with the new tower," said Sandy DeSostoa, director of marketing and communications for Crown Castle. The April date is what the company and the county officials have been working on in terms of schedule, she added. One major downfall to the fire is the lack of cell phone service, which many residents have complained of. DeSostoa also said all of the phone companies are currently working on bringing …

• Photos (1)

Update: Fire Destroys Home on Tom Smith Road in Lilburn

A family of three and their dog escaped unharmed from a blaze that totally destroyed their home on Tom Smith Road.

Updated 10:45 a.m. A family escaped unharmed from a blaze that destroyed their home overnight on the 800 block of Tom Smith Road. Firefighters responded to a call just before midnight, and the blaze was so intense by the time they arrived that it could be battled only from the outside, Captain Tommy Rutledge of Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services said. Owner Donna Bryson said she had been asleep when the smell of smoke awoke her about 11:45 p.m. Sunday. Seeing smoke coming from around the fireplace, she quickly aroused her husband and son, and they left the house immediately. "Within five or 10 minutes, the whole roof opened up and the whole house was just an inferno," Bryson said. The house, featured in a recent Lilburn-Mountain Park …

•  8 Comments
• Photos (8)

Lilburn Apartment Fire Damages One Unit

No one was injured and only one apartment unit was damaged in a fire on Burns Road Saturday evening.

Gwinnett County firefighters responding to a blaze at an apartment complex early Saturday evening on Burns Road were able to contain the fire to one unit. No one was injured, the fire department said. Four engines responded to the scene of a fire that was found on the patio area of a two-storey apartment in the 4800 block of Burns Road, Lieutenant Eric Eberly said in an emailed release. "Their quick actions contined the fire to the unit of origin with slight extension into the attic of the building," Eberly said of the firefighteres. The fire was under control within 17 minutes of the first crew being dispatched, he said. The family that lived there wasn't home at the time. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

• Photos (1)

Fire in Woods Behind Meadowcreek High School

The blaze did not cause any disruptions to the school day, according to fire department officials.

Firefighters were dipatched to the scene of a fire in the woods between Meadowcreek High School and Vulcan rock quarry today at 11:10 a.m. Emergency crews remained at the scene until 3:30 p.m., when remaining hot spots were completely wet down, according to a Gwinnett Fire release.  Firefighters found the blaze behind the high school, at 4455 Steve Reynolds Blvd in an unincorporated area of Norcross, on a large hill that is approximately 150 feet tall. "Firefighters were challenged by the difficult terrain and steady winds," wrote Cpt. Tommy Rutledge of Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services in a released statement.  The students were not threatened by the fire, according to the release. There were no interruptions or evacuations at the …

• Photos (1)