A fire tore through a Buford physical therapy office Saturday night, sending one firefighter to the hospital and leaving the building badly damaged.
What’s Happening: Flames broke out in the roof and attic of Benchmark Physical Therapy on Nelson Brogdon Boulevard just after 7 p.m. Saturday. The fire grew so intense that the roof collapsed, forcing firefighters to retreat and battle the blaze from outside.
What’s Important: No one was inside the building when the fire started. The business owner told firefighters they had closed the office the day before and hadn’t returned. One firefighter suffered minor injuries while fighting the fire and was taken to a local hospital.
How It Unfolded: Firefighters arrived at 7:17 p.m. to find heavy flames shooting from the two-story office building. Crews went inside with hoses and searched for anyone trapped. When part of the roof fell in, all firefighters evacuated immediately. They then used ladder trucks and large hoses from outside to knock down the flames. By 7:42 p.m., they had the fire under control and went back inside to finish putting it out.
What We Don’t Know: Fire investigators say they cannot determine what caused the fire. They know it started in the attic space, but the exact cause remains unknown.
The Sources: Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
