Fire destroys Forest Park warehouse, sends 1 to hospital
A massive fire broke out at a warehouse in Forest Park, sending one person to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
The fire started around 9:20 a.m. at La Fortuna Imports, located in an industrial area along Lake Mirror Place near the interchange of I-75 and I-285.
For hours, thick, dark smoke billowed into the sky and flames shot out of the roof.
As of 4:30 p.m., firefighters remained on the scene, hosing down the ravaged building.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
A woman identifying herself as the manager told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims that 14 people were inside the building when the fire started.
“It was heavily involved when we got here,” Forest Park Fire Capt. Ian Hogan told Channel 2 Action News. “Our primary focus, of course, whenever we have somebody trapped is to get that person out.”
The manager, who did not speak on camera, said she was working in her office when she heard somebody yell, “Run!”
Everybody got out on their own, she said, except for one employee who was rescued by firefighters. They were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
TRENDING STORIES:
North Georgia power company returning more than $8 million to its customers
Delta flight from Atlanta loses nose wheel during attempted takeoff, FAA confirms
‘Over 75 times...that’s just his state arrests:’ APD encounters repeat offender
Francisco Martinez was working in the building when the fire started. He said the employee got stuck behind an electric door that would not open.
“Everybody was running and screaming ‘Fire! Fire! Get out!’ And one of our guys wanted to be a hero and tried to put it out. Unfortunately, he got stuck,” Martinez told Mims.
That’s when he says two employees rammed the door with a truck to rescue him.
He went to the hospital with smoke inhalation.
“Everything was on fire, everything. And all of us were trying to put it out. And it wasn’t happening,” Martinez said.
The building housed kitchen and household products imported from Mexico and Central America, the manager told Channel 2 Action News.
About 50 firefighters from Forest Park, Morrow and Clayton County responded to the flames, Hogan said.
“It’s absolutely incredibly helpful to have all the assistance of our partners here in the county,” he said.
As the fire raged, some of the walls and the roof collapsed.
“Those are the things that happen because of the heavy fire involvement,” Hogan said.
Police have closed a stretch of Lake Mirror Road and urge drivers to avoid the area.
The cause of the fire is now under investigation.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
IN OTHER NEWS:
