A large fire broke out in a southwest Atlanta nonprofit’s warehouse early Wednesday, decimating the furniture it distributes to people recovering from homelessness.
Atlanta fire crews responded to the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta just before 4 a.m., officials said. The location is in the Adair Park neighborhood at 908 Murphy Ave.
The fire appeared to have started with some mattresses stored in the warehouse, said Anare Holmes, a fire department spokesperson. Fire investigators are working to determine the cause.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Just before 8 a.m., as crews continued to battle the blaze, a large section of the front of the building collapsed. One firefighter was taken to the hospital for possible dehydration as a precaution, Holmes said.
In addition to helping people move out of homelessness, the nonprofit provides free furniture and household goods to individuals and families who are living with HIV and AIDS or escaping domestic violence, according to its website.
Last year, the organization provided furniture to over 4,400 people and diverted more than 13,000 mattresses from landfills, its website says.
A Furniture Bank representative could not be reached for comment by Wednesday afternoon.
Fire officials told Channel 2 Action News that crews had trouble getting into the building because furniture was stacked from floor to ceiling.
Firefighters later had the fire largely under control. But as they walked through the warehouse, they found some remaining embers and hot spots they worked to put out, said Holmes.
He said the building’s solid construction made it take longer to extinguish the fire.
“As fire moves, it spreads into the walls, it gets into the insulation, it gets into all of that,” Holmes said at the scene. “These are good buildings that are built with wood.”
— Freelance photojournalist Ben Hendren contributed to this article.
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