Fire Causes Business Evacuations In Historic Downtown Buford

BUFORD, GA — There is extensive water damage, moderate smoke damage and minor fire damage after a fire struck in the historic business district of downtown Buford Monday. There were no reported injuries.

Firefighters responded at 12:41 p.m. to a report of a business fire at the 100 block of East Main Street NE in the historic business district of downtown Buford. The caller to 911 reported that smoke was coming out of the crawlspace.

Crews arrived at the scene to find a three-story business building with smoke coming out of the crawlspace on the backside of the building. While the firefighters were working on gaining access, other crews were rapidly evacuating adjacent businesses until the fire could be located and extinguished.

(For more news like this, sign up for Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news in Buford — or other neighborhoods. Access Patch on the go with our iPhone app or our brand new app for Android phone users.)

Upon entry, crews trported finding two sprinkler heads that had been activated and were suppressing the fire. Firefighters had already deployed handlines and had began attacking the rest of the fire as they made their way into the structure. The fire had begun extending up a wall on the first floor towards the second floor but the aggressive attack by firefighters kept any further fire damage from occurring, they said.

Fire Investigators have determined that the fire was accidental and electrical in nature.

Equipment on the scene included: 6-Engines, 2-Trucks, 1-Squad, 2-Medic Units, 1-Air and Light Unit, 2-Battalion Chiefs, 1-District Commander, and 3-Fire Investigators.

Photos courtesy Gwinnett Fire Department