Commercial and Residential Locksmiths in Sandy Springs

Violations discovered at same Sandy Springs apartment complex destroyed by fire

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Several violations were found at the same apartment complex where a massive fire destroyed several units on Wednesday. A day later, dozens of people are wondering where to turn and what happens next.

Sandy Springs fire officials tell Atlanta News First they rescued at least three residents from their balconies at the Azalea Park apartment complex.

“Everything happened so fast. I had to get my mom and my daughter out,” Zandra Bowen said.

She was one of several residents to return to the building Thursday to get a look at the damage and see if there was anything she could retrieve.

“I tried to see if we can get our belongings, but no word for that,” Bowen said.

Fire officials say the cause of the fire is still unknown.

The American Red Cross says they’re assisting more than two dozen people.

Bowen says for now her and her family are staying in a hotel.

“The hardest part is just finding a place to settle into, because trying to work, then dealing with that and making sure, she’s okay, it’s a lot,” she said

This is not the first time in recent years the complex has gone up in flames. Eight apartments were damaged by fire at the same complex in 2021. During that fire, the closest fire hydrant was out of order.

We learned then it’s up to a property owner to maintain any hydrant that is on private property.

As for Wednesday’s fire, officials say a certified building inspector examined the apartments within the last month and found several violations.

Sandy Springs Fire confirmed the building did not have sprinklers because it was “grandfathered in.” New buildings are required to have sprinklers.

An ordinance passed in 2016 requires extinguishers and smoke alarms in every unit.

The Sandy Springs Fire chief said they can’t enforce requiring sprinklers, given the age of most older units.

There are several online fundraisers set up to help the residents impacted by Wednesday’s fire.

Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.

On Twitter, the city said water pressure would fully return around 10 a.m.

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs reported Monday morning that repairs were complete and water pressure was being restored after a situation over the weekend that caused a boil water advisory.

On Twitter, the city said water pressure would fully return around 10 a.m.

It's unclear how much longer the boil water advisory will need to remain in place. The tweet said it will "remain until ADW is cleared to lift the advisory following sampling protocols 24 hours."

"We will continue to update as we receive more information," the city said.

Atlanta Watershed posted an FAQ on the situation here

The city also said on Twitter earlier in the morning that Atlanta Watershed had ben "working throughout the night" to restore service.

" A new part had to be fabricated to make the repair, which was completed earlier this morning," the tweet said. "Diver crews are currently working on installing the new part."

RELATED: Possible water main breach leading to low water pressure in Sandy Springs

In a release, Sandy Springs said work had been done on a 48-inch transmission main on Riverside Road near the Don White Memorial Park.

"In order to protect the public from a potential health hazard, all residents and property owners that have experienced water outages and/or low water pressures are advised to boil all water prior to use or use bottled water, for drinking, cooking, preparing baby food, or brushing teeth. The water should be boiled for one minute past a rolling boil. Infants, the elderly, and those with immune deficiencies should be particularly cautious. Do not drink water from public water fountains in the impacted area," a release stated.

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SANDY SPRINGS, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Taco and Hot Chicken lovers, rejoice! A groundbreaking dining destination is coming to Sandy Springs, Georgia.

Today, INKED Tacos and The Original Hot Chicken announce their newest dual concept location in Georgia opening in Sandy Springs. Both INKED Tacos and The Original Hot Chicken are portfolio concepts of Atlanta-based Experiential Brands.

The first 100 customers at the grand opening of the location on June 29th will receive a VIP card for a free menu item of their choice.

"We are excited to expand our presence in Atlanta and play an important role in the daily lives of people who live, work, and visit here," said a restaurant representative. "We strive to create memorable food experiences that will keep guests coming back for more."

At INKED Tacos, each menu item combines culturally relevant American foods with Mexican inspired dishes to create an addictive, one-of-a-kind offering. The menu includes more traditional tacos, such as the Birria Queso, Carne Asada and Chicharron de Queso Tacos as well as INKED originals, including the Family-Sized Nachos and Tattoo Blue Tacos.

The Original Hot Chicken is known for its cornflake-rolled, pickle-brined, hand-battered chicken and cooked to order daily, so every meal is hot and tender. The restaurant offers customers a variety of menu options, including its hot chicken sandwich, chicken and waffles, chicken tenders, Grandma’s Banana Shake and our iconic fried twinkie with strawberry sauce. The restaurant is located at 6650 Roswell Rd., Sandy Springs, GA.

View images from both concepts here.

To learn more about INKED Tacos, visit https://inkedtacos.com.

To learn more about The Original Hot Chicken, visit https://oghotchicken.com/.

About Experiential Brands

Experiential Brands, a platform company of NRD Capital, franchises fast casual restaurant brands designed to deliver a rapid return on invested capital for franchisees. Led by one of the industry’s most prolific franchise leaders, Aziz Hashim, the company has developed scalable brands including The Original Hot Chicken, INKED Tacos & Pinsa Roman Pizza. Experiential Brands strives to achieve compelling unit-level economics using its proprietary franchise model for qualified restaurant operators.

Learn more about franchising opportunities with Experiential Brands at experiential-brands.com.

About INKED Tacos

INKED Tacos is a fast casual restaurant concept launched by the Experiential Brands platform of NRD Capital. INKED Tacos offers customers delicious tacos that marry culturally relevant American food with Mexican inspired dishes. The menu offerings include more traditional tacos, such as the Birria Queso, Carne Asada and Chicharron de Queso Tacos as well as INKED originals, including the Family-Sized Nachos and Tattoo Blue Tacos. Through Experiential Brands, INKED Tacos has franchising opportunities available.

Learn more about INKED Tacos at inkedtacos.com.

About The Original Hot Chicken

The Original Hot Chicken is an American fast casual restaurant concept launched by the Experiential Brands platform of NRD Capital. The Original Hot Chicken offers customers southern-style, cornflake rolled, pickle-brined, hand-battered Nashville-hot chicken. The menu offerings include the hot chicken sandwich, chicken and waffles, tenders, and crinkle-cut French fry combos at affordable prices. Each meal can be served with every level of sauce, including the special Come-Back Sauce, made with a top-secret recipe that will keep you coming back every time. Through Experiential Brands, The Original Hot Chicken has franchising opportunities available.

Learn more about The Original Hot Chicken at oghotchicken.com.

The City of Sandy Springs is cracking down on old apartments failing to prevent fires with a new ordinance passed this month.

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Atlanta News First) -The City of Sandy Springs is cracking down on old apartments failing to prevent fires with a new ordinance passed this month.

It comes just three months after a fire broke out for the second time in the last three years at the Azalea Park Apartment complex.

“I think it’s atrocious the way that these buildings are so old and they haven’t been kept up appropriately,” Azalea Park Apartment resident Sam Falcone said.

Falcone has lived at the Azalea Park Apartment complex in Sandy Springs for five years and said it’s time old apartments like this are held accountable.

“I can tell you since I’ve lived here in 2018 this is now the second apartment fire and second building that has burnt down,” Falcone said.

In March of 2021 fire officials told Atlanta News First that a fire hydrant wasn’t working on the property and it prevented crews from accessing water to put out the fire that ignited on the property.

This year, fire officials told Atlanta News First the building didn’t have a sprinkler system because it was an older building.

Residents also told Atlanta News First that smoke detectors never went off during the latest fire that happened.

“The fact that they didn’t learn from their first mistake is like, ok clearly someone is being negligent here,” Falcone said.

The city said 47% of the 98 total apartment buildings in Sandy Springs are old and outdated and don’t have a sprinkler system, therefore, they are required to have other lifesaving tools like fire alarms and fire extinguishers.

However, city officials said too many times apartment owners and property managers aren’t ensuring these deterrents are fully operational.

The city said they made $35,000 off apartment fines in one year.

“That’s why we are requiring these inspections because some of the fires we’ve had previously at some other apartment complexes were directly related to lack of maintenance,” Sandy Springs Structural Engineer and Building Department Manager, Jonathan Livingston said.

Now under the new ordinance, apartments will be required to hire a certified building inspector to inspect complexes annually instead of over the course of five years, according to the city.

In addition, city officials said apartment managers will have to take a city ordinance course detailing the new building, record keeping, and maintenance requirements.

By January city officials said apartments will have to be in compliance with the new city ordinance or face fines and possible litigation for ongoing violations.

“Yeah absolutely, I think it’s appropriate I think it should have happened a long time ago,” Falcone said.

The city says under the new ordinance, apartment buildings will also be required to have their own insurance in case there is a loss of life during a fire.

Details included in the ordinance can be viewed in this document beginning on page 105.

Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A bridge over I-285 will stay closed for months after a truck hit the overpass and damaged the support beams.

The Mt. Vernon Highway Bridge will stay closed, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation, having suffered “critical” damage Wednesday.

GDOT inspectors determined five of the bridge’s six beams would need replacement in order to fully repair the damage.

Fixing the damages is expected to take months, according to GDOT.

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Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was live near the bridge to learn more about how the closure is impacting traffic on the highway section near Roswell Road.

Workers are on-site at the damaged bridge, working on preparing the location and surveying how the damage will impact the I-285 Auxiliary Lane project, which had already been planned.

Part of that construction plan includes a full replacement of the bridge, which was built in 1962, according to a statement from GDOT.

While drivers are likely unhappy to be stuck in extra traffic, homeowners living nearby told Channel 2 Action News they’re happy, saying it’s never been so quiet.

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“LOL, it’s less traffic, we have like an instantaneous cul de sac, which is nice,” Louis Tesser, who lives nearby, told Channel 2 Action News.

Tesser lives on Mt. Vernon Highway in Sandy Springs. He said the road is normally noisy and congested with traffic most of the day.

Since the truck accident Wednesday afternoon, where a truck and its equipment crashed into the bridge, it’s been quieter.

GDOT immediately shut the road down, and all lanes of I-285 were closed, as they assessed the damage.

“Apparently my neighbor actually heard it happen, so I think it was a pretty big hit,” Tesser said. “He just said he heard it and felt it.”

A department spokesperson told Channel 2 Action News Friday that an exact timeline on reopening wasn’t available yet since they’re not able to get the materials they need right away.

Tesser urged other drivers and neighbors to be patient because both projects, repairing the bridge and the I-285 Auxiliary Lane Project, are important.

“It’s ok with me that the bridge is closed, because less traffic,” Tesser said.

Early estimates for repair completion from GDOT say they expect the Mt. Vernon bridge to reopen to traffic in Summer 2024, but they’re still working with contractors to see what options they have and if they can move the timeline up.

“Safety of the traveling public is paramount in all Georgia DOT decisions, said in a statement. “Upon reviewing a timeline for repairs, including material availability, the department determined the Mt. Vernon bridge will not reopen to vehicular or pedestrian traffic.”

The new bridge that was already under construction is set to be finished by next summer. Channel 2 Action News will stay in close contact with GDOT to make sure we can let you know when the highway will open up again.

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Damaged bridge over I-285 in Sandy Springs to remain closed, officials say