Storms Keep Firefighters Busy

Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services (GCFES) personnel stayed busy as severe weather moved into the area Wednesday evening.

According to a press release from GCFES public information officer Capt. Tommy Rutledge, the department normally responds to between 200 and 250 incidents in a 24-hour period. Last night, between 6:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. alone, crews responded to 124 incidents. Rutledge said 911 operators were handling 535 calls per hour during the height of the storm.

The calls included vehicle accidents, downed wires, possible fires from lightning strikes, trees down on houses, wood fires and alarm calls.

Due to the significant activity, GCFES command staff officers were called into headquarters as the department activated its emergency operations plan.

GCFES responded to several incidents during the storm including:

• Tree on a house at 3000 Dowry Drive, NW in Lawrenceville. No injuries were reported.
• Tree on a townhome at 3138 Sloping Terrace, SW in Snellville.  The occupants were displaced due to the damage.  No injuries reported.
• Tree on a house in the 2800 block of Cardinal Lake Drive, NW in Duluth.  Crews found a house with significant damage.  The occupants were home at the time of the incident, but escaped unharmed. The residents have been displaced due to the damage.
• Tree on a house in the 1000 block of Saw Grass Court, SW in Lilburn.  Crews found a tree that fell on the house over the garage area.  There were no injuries.
• An apartment fire on Plantation Trace Drive was ruled storm related (possible lightning strike) per the incident commander.  The blaze damaged two townhome units in a two-story building.

Gwinnett County Road Maintenance was also called out during the storm to remove trees blocking roadways.  

“Firefighters, emergency dispatchers, police officers, and other county staff worked tirelessly to respond and mitigate storm related incidents throughout the evening hours,” Rutledge said.