ATLANTA — The city's fire chief explained Monday how the devastating apartment fire in northeast Atlanta was an absolute "anomaly," requiring crews to shift response.
The fire destroyed much of The Reserve at LaVista Walk complex after it was sparked by what police said might have been two people setting off fireworks late Friday night. Both those suspects have been arrested.
"Somebody has to be held accountable for this," Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. "We have a building that may collapse."
Atlanta Fire and Rescue Chief Roderick Smith answered questions Monday evening, saying the investigation into how the fire happened will have a three-prong approach: where the fire originated, a look into code enforcement and what was authorized by the City of Atlanta's Office of Buildings.
"What's unique about this one is that it started in the roof so it was in the roofline," Smith said. "So if it starts in the roofline, clearly the alarm system is not going to activate."
Smith explained that most sprinkler systems detect heat, and as the fire was burning upward, it took a while for the systems to sense a fire was spreading.
"That's going to pose a different challenge," he said.
There were no major injuries reported, but dozens of units were lost in the fire. 11Alive SkyTracker flew over the complex Monday morning, capturing the extent of the damage as the fire appears to have raced across top-floor units.
The fire chief said the city will likely look into updated building codes for situations like this.
He added that crews arrived to the complex within six minutes - but by that point, the fire was burning through the roof.
"And so we're fighting time," he said. "Obviously, our first objective is to get everyone out of the apartment safely so it became an immediate evacuation and then quickly into a defensive operation."
Smith said upwards of 80 firefighters were at the scene at once and the department's equipment shortages didn't hinder its ability to put out the flames.
"It was a full response," Smith said.
Dickens said officials will look at the structure to determine its status.
"To see if it's going to be stable enough to be brought back up or will it collapse - and how did we get here in the first place," he said.
As of Monday, Lavista Road itself is blocked off between Cheshire Bridge Road and Citadel Drive. Some businesses in the area, including Peachtree Creek Animal Hospital, are also currently closed.
Photos | LaVista Walk Apartments fire
Residents still have no access to the apartments due to collapse hazards. 11Alive was on scene early Monday outside the building, where some residents had gathered in a parking lot across the street for updates. Firefighters stopped and spoke with them briefly, and one resident said they were hoping to get into the complex to recover cars from the garage, wallets and other personal items - if they made it through the fire and all the water from firefighting efforts.
The resident said she was disappointed with the property company's response thus far, saying they had not offered any assistance with hotels or possibly space at their other apartment complex properties.
According to Dickens, 20 families were being assisted by the Red Cross at the Central Park Recreation Center on Saturday.
Officials reported that an Atlanta Police Department officer was a resident at the complex and helped notify others to leave the building. He also has lost his home and Dickens said his cat died in the fire as he tried to rush neighbors out. Atlanta Police said 17 people were treated for smoke inhalation.