Bell Collier Village residents still homeless after massive Atlanta apartment fire

ATLANTA – Firefighters are still trying to determine exactly what caused a massive fire in a northwest Atlanta apartment building Saturday night that forced hundreds of residents from their homes. Some families returned to the building Sunday to try to salvage what they could.

“I’m just here now to try to get some information to see what the next step is,” Dominic Fondon said.

Fondon and his family were among hundreds of people at the Bell Collier Village apartment complex who were forced from their homes when a massive fire broke out Saturday.

“I saw the fire trucks coming, I saw how fast they were getting ready, so it already made me think, ‘Yo, something bad is happening,’” Fondon said.

“It’s just water damage. I think they told us our living room floor collapsed,” he added.

Firefighters said a fire broke out on the roof of the building, but could not say exactly where or how the fire started.

“Our fire investigators have been here all night, and they’re leaving this morning, and they’ll make a determination on that,” Atlanta Fire Department Battalion Chief Jeff Cutrer said.

When residents returned to the building on Sunday morning, they were still unable to enter.

Atlanta Fire Rescue works to extinguish a fire on Howell Mill Road NW on July 27, 2024.

Firefighters say floors of the building collapsed, forcing crews to fight the blaze from outside.

Authorities said a pipe burst in another building in the complex that was not affected by the fire, also causing floors to collapse. Affected residents are still unable to enter their building.

“We’re relying on management, and they’re going to bring in engineers and their property management, and they’re going to make sure that everything is safe for residents to go home. We would certainly hate for something to happen to someone after we’ve told them it’s safe to go home,” Cutrer said.

Despite the damage, everyone was able to evacuate. Firefighters even rescued some pets and worked to reunite them with their owners.

“Right now, what’s going through my mind is just rebuilding what’s next. One door closes, another one has to open,” Fondon said.