A Stone Mountain man ran across a walkway bridge and pounded on his neighbors' door Monday evening, pulling a couple to safety just as fire dropped down around them. DeKalb County fire units responded to Mountain Oaks Apartments at 4719 Central Dr. around 5:18 p.m. to find a 12-unit, three-story building engulfed in flames. No injuries were reported.
The neighbor, Phillip Williams, said he noticed that Ernest Brown and his wife were still inside and unaware of the danger, according to Atlanta News First. Williams ran across the walkway bridge to the apartment on the right and pounded on the door to warn them. When he reached Brown's wife, the fire had already started falling around her. “Fire dropped down on her as I grabbed her,” Williams said.
Couple Credits Neighbor With Saving Their Lives
Ernest Brown expressed gratitude for the neighbor who saved his and his wife's lives, and he did not mince words about how close the call was. “If he had been a few minutes later, we wouldn't have been out that door,” Brown said. His wife said Williams dragged her out of the apartment as the fire spread.
Brown called his rescuer an American hero, but Williams brushed off the label. He said he did not consider himself a hero for what he did. The same report noted that this marked the second fire at the Browns' apartment complex within a matter of months, though the circumstances connecting the two incidents were not detailed.
Cause Still Under Investigation, Red Cross Steps In
The American Red Cross was expected to help residents of the 12 units affected by the fire, fire officials said. A separate account from WSB Radio on a DeKalb County apartment fire said the cause remained under investigation and described damage as minor, limited to the building's exterior and one apartment unit.
DeKalb County has seen a string of apartment fires in recent months. Monday's blaze in Stone Mountain came roughly five weeks after a fire at the Parc at Glenwood complex in unincorporated DeKalb County, according to a September report from Atlanta News First. A separate fire that same day at Midwood Gardens in the Stone Mountain area destroyed five apartments and displaced at least five families, though no one was hurt, per Fox 5 Atlanta, which reported that fire broke out a little after 10 a.m. and was brought under control within an hour.
A Pattern of Close Calls at Local Complexes
Stone Mountain apartment fires have made headlines before. A 2020 fire at a local complex reportedly affected 16 units and displaced 30 people, while a 2018 blaze saw everyone in four affected units escape safely, according to archived reports. Those past incidents underscore how quickly flames can spread through multi-unit buildings like Mountain Oaks.
For now, the Browns are simply thankful to be alive, crediting their neighbor's quick thinking for getting them out the door in time. Williams, for his part, insists he just did what anyone would do.
