Note: This story has been updated to reflect several additional fundraising efforts.
In the aftermath of an apartment fire that destroyed a building at the Dunwoody Village Apartments on Jan. 31, the community is stepping up with donations of money, clothing, and furniture to help those who lost everything in the blaze.
Around 5 p.m., a two-alarm fire was reported at the apartments, located on North Peachtree Road across from First Baptist Church of Atlanta. While there were no injuries reported, eight families living in the unit lost everything in the blaze. High winds that night contributed to the fast spread of the fire, officials said.
Rescue personnel were also hampered by a lack of water coming from the hydrants, although the cause of that malfunction remains unknown.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, according to the DeKalb County Fire Marshal’s office. Investigators are interviewing affected residents about the incident this week, a representative said.
Immediately after the fire, local American Red Cross volunteers from the Greater Atlanta Chapter responded and coordinated emergency aid to the 23 people affected by the fire – providing comfort kits, direct client assistance, and recovery planning, according to a press release from the organization.
In addition, the community is showing up with donations and cash.
“Eight families lost everything in the Dunwoody Village Apartments fire, and our community has already shown how caring and generous it is,” Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch said in a social media post. “We are now collecting donations to help these families begin to rebuild. Thank you to everyone who has reached out, and to Kingswood Church and First Baptist Church for stepping up immediately.”
Ways to help
There are several ongoing campaigns:
- Gift card donations can be delivered to Kingswood Church, 4896 North Peachtree Road, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kingswood is also accepting online donations. Choose “Mission Appeals” from the top menu and then select “Fire Victims.” Donations will be used to directly support families impacted by the fire as they begin to rebuild.
Kingswood Executive Director Allen Baston said community response “has been overwhelming.”
“We’ve received more than $5,000 in cash so far and had several gift card donations,” Baston told Rough Draft on Feb. 2. “It’s been a blessing.”
- NFA Burger in Dunwoody Village is taking gift card donations Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Suggested card options include: Kroger, Publix, Target, Walmart, and Amazon.
- Anyone wishing to provide furniture and household goods can email Angela.Smith@BridgePM.com to coordinate delivery. Bridge Property Management is the entity that manages the complex.
- In addition, Mad Italian, a restaurant located on Savoy Drive not far from the apartments, posted on social media that two of its employees lost everything in the fire.
“Please consider coming by the Mad and donating some new or gently used clothing,” the post said. “They need much more than clothes! But we have to start somewhere.”
The post included names and sizes for the collection:
- John – (male) XL or XXL shirts and jackets, 32 or 34×38 pants/jeans, 10.5 men’s shoes
- Landon – (male) Medium shirts or jackets- Medium pants/ sweats, 10.5 men’s shoes
- Izabella – (female) Medium shirts/jackets, size 8 pants or jeans, 6.5 or 7 shoes
- Hope – (female) Medium/large shirts/jackets, 12/14 pants, 7.5 or 8 shoes.
In addition, two GoFundMe pages have been set up for the Mad Italian employees:
- One, entitled Support John McDavid After Losing Everything in a Fire, is collecting funds for longtime employee, John McDavid. It has has raised $12,000 of its $25,000 goal.
- The other, called Help Hope’s Family Rebuild After the Fire, has raised $1,300 of its $10,000 goal.
About five years ago, a gas line explosion at the same complex injured two people and caused major damage to one of the buildings.
