A family of five escaped an early morning fire Sunday unharmed in Gwinnett County.
Gwinnett County Fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said fire crews received a call just before 3 a.m. to the home in the 1500 block of Sisters Court, near Sugarloaf Parkway, with the initial caller, a neighbor, reporting that flames were coming up from the house.
Rutledge said police responded first, advising firefighters that the attached garage was fully engulfed in flames. All occupants had been able to escape the home uninjured.
Firefighters attacked the fire, with flames shooting through the roof of the garage and burning in the attic when crews entered with hose line, however, they were forced out when the roof partially collapsed and fire conditions worsened.
By 3:29 a.m., Rutledge said crews had gotten the fire under control, though it caused heavy damage to the home and its contents.
The family, three adults and two children, were asleep when the fire started. The mother told Gwinnett Fire that she heard one of the children crying and went to check on them. That's when she and the father smelled smoke and discovered the garage was on fire. They were quickly able to escape.
The family was displaced due to the damage, but declined assistance from the American Red Cross and instead chose to stay with friends. The family told Gwinnett Fire the home was a rental and that they had just moved in, and that the fire alarms began to sound as they were exiting the home.
The cause of the fire hasn't been determined, nor has the origin point. Gwinnett Fire Investigators are looking in to the fire further to determine what happened.
