DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Another fire ripped through the Brannon Hill Condominiums Wednesday morning killing two people, adding another deadly incident that has occurred at the complex that has been plagued by a series of fires and shootings.
“Someone kept smelling the smoke so it got a little worse,” said one Brannon Hill condo resident, who asked to hide his identity. The neighbor said they are lucky the fire that ripped through one unit and claimed two lives didn’t spread to other homes.
DeKalb County Fire officials said they found the two bodies burned up in a condo. So far, it seems the fire ripped through that sole unit, according to authorities. There's no information on how the fire may have started nor have they identified the victims.
“It is kinda sad that it’s kinda something every few months that happened,” said another resident who also asked not to be identified.
RELATED: Homicide investigation underway following deadly fire at Brannon Hill Condominiums, police say
In February, a pregnant woman was shot and killed -- her child delivered prematurely. In May of 2022 six people were shot and three of them were killed. And in January of 2022, a massive fire broke out at the apartment complex.
“Brannon Hill has been a troubled community for over 20 years. The county, I think, over the years has tried many different tactics and just these recent issues of fires and murders have been coming a lot more frequent," DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry said.
Terry expressed there is no simple answer that can erase the blight the complex has recently faced.
"Overall conditions that just can’t be addressed with one simple step solution of string down a building, which to this point has been the county's main strategy,” he said.
Terry said in recent months he and several other commissioners have allotted about $100,000 in funding to help the community. This money is already being used.
He said since the last fire and the last murder they have installed security cameras and cleaned up dump sites.
"We were there just six months ago doing a food distribution and handing out smoke alarms. So the concern that I have in the immediate aftermath to Wednesday’s fire is to ensure that all the residents in the remaining buildings have access to those installed smoke alarms with the 10-year batteries,” Terry added.
The commissioner said he and several other commissioners will hold a town hall in the coming weeks to speak with residents and hopefully come up with a long-term plan to redevelop the complex.