Gwinnett County firefighters responded at 9:42 a.m. to a reported business fire at 1450 Peachtree Industrial Blvd NE in Buford.
Upon arrival, crews found the automotive shop fully involved, threatening an adjacent building which housed the offices for the business. Crews deployed attack lines to knock down the fire which had already spread to the attic of the office building. Once it was confirmed that all occupants were out of the building, crews moved to knockdown the fire in the automotive shop. Due to the high amount of contents within the shop, including vehicles, car parts and automotive fluids, it took crews an extended amount of time to consider the fire as “under control.”
Peachtree Industrial Blvd was closed in both directions for access to a fire hydrant on the opposite side of the road from the business. The road has been reopened.
No injuries were been reported.
The Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources provided manpower and an excavator which was used to take down pieces of the structure so that firefighters could extinguish any remaining fire without the threat of a collapse hazard.
Members from the department’s Hazardous Materials team were on scene and worked to control the runoff of motor oil and other automotive fluids, preventing the substances from entering storm drains.
Fire investigators responded for cause determination and were able to rule out any suspicious activity as the cause of the fire. Due to the extensive damage, the exact origin of the fire has not been determined. The Gwinnett Police Aviation Unit provided support to fire investigators by deploying a drone to help get a better view of the scene.
One crew remains on scene awaiting Georgia Power to restore electric service to parts of the property that were involved in the fire. The scene will then be turned back over to the business owner.
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