A “major” fire at a Dunwoody apartment complex on Dec. 21 was caused by a gas explosion that sent two people to a hospital with burns, according to police and the DeKalb County Fire Rescue Department.
The explosion and fire struck at the Dunwoody Village Apartments on Dunwoody Crossing, a gated street off North Peachtree Road on the city’s east side.
“Atlanta gas crews were working on a gas leak when the explosion occurred,” said Fire Rescue Capt. Dion Bentley, a spokesperson for the department, in an email.
Atlanta Gas Light, the company that owns and maintains natural gas pipelines, said the two people injured were its employees. Company spokesperson Mekka Parish said the employees were responding to an incident “where a contracting firm working on a project unrelated to our company damaged one of our lines.”
The company turned off gas service to approximately 425 customers in the area as a precaution, Parrish said.
“Our crews will be working into the night to restore service as safely and swiftly as possible,” Parrish said. “At this time, we anticipate returning service to customers beginning Tuesday [Dec. 22].”
The complex contains hundreds of garden-style apartments in several separate buildings.
The complex has been the scene of other major fires over the past several years, including in 2017, 2015 and 2014.
Update: This story has been updated with information from the DeKalb County Fire Rescue Department and Atlanta Gas Light.