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Investigators still working to find cause of warehouse fire
Days after fierce flames and explosions destroyed a South Fulton warehouse, investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the fire.
SOUTH FULTON, Ga. - Days after fierce flames and explosions destroyed a South Fulton warehouse, investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the fire.
On Friday, Chantel Powell and her son took in the sight of what is left of her business.
"We've lost everything that we have worked so hard for over the last four years," Powell said.
Powell is the CEO and Co-Founder of Play Pits, an all-natural deodorant company. They rent part of the building near Fulton Industrial Boulevard and Robinson Drive in South Fulton.
Firefighters say the unit next to Powell's company caught fire Tuesday morning and quickly got out of control, damaging her unit as well.
"It's a huge hit because we are a growing and scaling business and so as we've been in the phase of scaling and growing and doing the necessary steps to get to the next step this definitely pushes us down," she said.
Powell cannot even get inside to assess the damage or remove merchandise.
South Fulton Fire Rescue says it is simply too risky because the firewalls are not stable. That is also creating a problem for fire investigators as they work to identify what sparked the blaze at Atlanta Custom Iron Works.
"We have determined a rough area where the fire may have started, but that is as far as we have gotten at this point because it's structurally unsafe for us to actually go inside," said Lt. Eric Jackson with South Fulton Fire Rescue.
South Fulton Fire says it is looking likely that at least part of the building may have to be knocked down for safety reasons.
The fire has forced Powell to suspend sales on her website, but so far, they have been able to continue fulfilling orders for Amazon and Target from another facility.
Right now, the focus is on figuring out what is next.
"I have hope that this is not the final ending story for Play Pits," Powell said.
Powell says they do have insurance, but she is not sure if it will cover everything because they have been growing so quickly.