DECATUR, Ga. -- Fires have happened time and time again at a Decatur apartment complex, displacing dozens of people this year.
But this is not the only place where blazes have occurred recently. Authorities said they are seeing an increase of fires reported in DeKalb County.
11Alive's La'Tasha Givens went to talk to fire investigators about why this keeps happening.
"Its really hard because we want to figure out what is going on," said Captain Dion Bentley. "Right now the causes are still under investigation but they don't seem to be connected at all."
You may remember back in January, the massive blaze got a lot of attention after a video surfaced of a parent throwing a child to a firefighter from a burning building at Avondale Forest Apartments. Twelve people were injured on that day.
"I mean we were catching babies like footballs, literally," Captain Jackson said in an interview after the fire.
Since January, there have been four reported fires at the complex, two of them being just this week.
On Sunday, 60 people were displaced after units were damaged by flames. On Wednesday, firefighters went to the scene after a report of a fire in a vacant unit.
While the investigations are not complete, Captain Bentley said each blaze appears to have a different cause, falling into various categories with cooking fires at the top of the list, followed by electrical.
However, outside of this complex, Captain Bentley said DeKalb County as a whole has seen an increase in fires this past month.
"There's no link and it's just odd," he said. "It's just an odd time. I've been here 16 years in the fire department and I can't remember a time when we've had these many working incidents in such a short time."
Officials say they normally work an average of 35 fires every 30 days, but right now they've worked 19 in just the past two weeks. They are pacing around 38. However, they said the biggest difference has been the severity. More structures have burned, posing a bigger threat to occupants.
Out of all the fires, investigators said only one was fatal. Investigators said a firefighter did sustain minor injuries in another one.
Firefighters said residents anywhere should follow these tips:
- Don't grill to close to your home
- Don't grill on balconies at an apartment
- Don't overload your circuits
- Remember to change your smoke alarm batteries about every six months
