Reserve at Lavista Walk blaze highlights firefighter equipment issues in Atlanta, council member says
Did equipment challenges play a role in massive fire?
Firefighters fought gallantly to save lives and extinguish a raging fire in northeast Atlanta last Friday night. At least one key city leader claims there were equipment problems as almost 100 firefighters did everything they could to douse the fire at the Reserve at LaVista Walk Apartments. The fire, they say, continues to highlight the equipment challenges in the city.
ATLANTA - The head of the Atlanta City Council’s Public Safety Council revealed on Thursday there were some equipment challenges last Friday as firefighters gallantly fought to save lives and extinguish a raging fire at the Reserve at LaVista Walk apartments.
Nearly a hundred firefighters did everything they could to quickly douse the flames, but Atlanta City Council Public Safety chair Dustin Hillis says Atlanta Fire Rescue ran into significant equipment problems.
RESERVE AT LAVISTA WALK APARTMENT FIRE: WHY IT SPREAD SO FAST
Reserve at LaVista Walk apartments fire aftermath
SKYFOX Drone shot these images of the Reserve at LaVista Walk apartments, located on the corner of LaVista and Cheshire Bridge roads, after a 3-alarm fire sparked by firefighters tore through half the complex. There were concerns of structural integrity on Nov. 13, 2023.
With the diminished response and several pieces of equipment down, including the first-due ladder truck for this area, Ladder Truck 29, those certainly affected the response time, according to Hillis.
"Ladder trucks were dispatched. One broke down on the way to the fire due to a transmission issue. Two of the ladders that were on the scene, one was stuck in rescue mode, which is where the water on the ladder will not go up to the top of the ladder, only half or three-fourths of the way. Another one of the truck's ladders cannot move right or left, so it was stuck," Hillis said.
Despite the challenge, Hillis applauds the efforts by the men and women of Atlanta Fire and Rescue. He adds the equipment problem is not a slight to them.
"They had 80 firefighters on the scene, the men and women of AFRD will give it their all no matter what equipment they are given, but unfortunately with the lack of equipment, the response was not a full response, and not what it should have been," the chair commented.
RESERVE AT LAVISTA WALK APARTMENT FIRE HAS RESIDENTS DEALING WITH DESTRUCTION, HEARTACHE
Hillis knows this issue well. He advocated for $40 million in new equipment for the city’s emergency services. He now wants to see the inspection reports from the massive fire to determine if fire suppression equipment was up to code.
"According to radio traffic [from the firefighters responding that night], there was not only significant issues with getting working ladder trucks on the scene, there were significant issues with getting standpipes to flow, which are the fire suppression plumbing system within the building," Mr. Hillis said.
FOX 5 reached out to Atlanta Fire and Rescue to get a reaction to Hillis' remarks, but did not immediately hear back.