Lawrenceville, GA – By DEEPA PATEL, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Lawrenceville woman died Sunday of injuries from a fire at her apartment complex.
Erin Lee Williams, 33, died of smoke inhalation at her home on Caboose Court. Firefighters found her body at 10:30 p.m., six hours after several people reported hearing an explosion in the building, said Thomas Rutledge of the Gwinnett Fire Department.
While the number of people in the building at the time of the fire is unknown, everyone else was able to escape unhurt, Rutledge reported.
The fire originated in a building near the center of the four-unit complex. The blaze then spread to an adjacent building.
“One unit is completely destroyed and the other is damaged from the heat and smoke and from firefighting efforts,” said Rutledge, who explained that firefighters entered the building two floors below the point of origin.
Siding on a third building melted from the heat, he said. Rutledge said the cause of the fire is unknown.
“There’s a lot of speculation from people who were on the scene that there may have been a natural gas odor, but it’s still under investigation,” he said.