Duluth apartment fire displaces 45 people

A fast-moving fire tore through a Duluth apartment on May 31, 2021. (Gwinnett County Fire and Rescue)

Officials said a fast-moving apartment fire in Gwinnett County on Memorial Day displaced 14 families.

It happened at the Courtland Portico apartments located at 2110 Preston Park Drive in Duluth. Gwinnett County firefighters said they received a call shortly before 1 p.m. Crews arrived to the building to find heavy smoke and flames shooting from the third-floor balcony of the corner apartment.

The residents were able to evacuate safely from the building.

A fast-moving fire tore through a Duluth apartment on May 31, 2021. (Gwinnett County Fire and Rescue)

Firefighters said it took about 40 minutes to get the fire under control and were able to contain the blaze to one side of the breezeway. 

When the smoke cleared, two apartments received heavy fire damage and five adjoining units were damaged by smoke, heat, and water, firefighters said.

Fire investigators believe the blaze is accidental in nature and have not ruled out smoking material as the cause.

The Red Cross is assisting about 45 people left homeless by the fire.

WATCH: FOX 5 Atlanta live news coverage

Loading Video…

This browser does not support the Video element.

_____

Sign up for FOX 5 email alerts

Download the FOX 5 Atlanta app for breaking news and weather alerts.

Gwinnett CountyNews