Gwinnett County firefighters extinguish intense flames at abandoned building

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Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services crews responded to a fire in an abandoned building in Lawrenceville on Jan. 8, 2023. (Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services)

Gwinnett County firefighters are working to learn what caused an abandoned building to burn on Sunday morning in Lawrenceville.

Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services said firefighters saw a homeless person lying on the ground near the home at around 3 a.m. on Sterling Hill Drive and Towler Road. Firefighters said the person told first responders they'd inhaled smoke and medical crews took the person to Northside Hospital Gwinnett in stable condition. 

No one else was injured, officials said, and it took more than one hour for firefighters to get the flames under control.

The person who reported the fire said it was spreading to the woods. Crews arrived at the one-story home at around 3:04 a.m. and brought the flames under control at around 4:09 a.m.

Firefighters pulled off plywood from boarded-up windows and began to use several hoses to push back the flames. 

Once the fire was out, crews went inside and determine there was no one there. 

Fire investigators learned the building had been converted into a business. The cause of the fire is still undetermined.