One-Alarm Fire Damages Bridal Shop

Wedding dresses and colorful bridesmaid gowns were lying on the ground at Aleysa's Bridal Shop on Friday morning. Glass was broken out of the front doors and the ceiling tiles the length of the shop were darkened.

The one-alarm fire at the shop was called in by a person passing by 5345 Jimmy Carter Boulevard. A fire crew was dispatched at 12:07 a.m. Friday morning. When the crew arrived they found smoke-stained windows and heat build-up at the building's entrance, according to Captain Tommy Rutledge of Gwinnett County Fire & Emergency Services.

The firefighters forced entrance and encountered heavy smoke inside the shop. After deploying hoses to fight the flames, the fire was under control by 12:34 a.m. 

The fire has been ruled an accident by investigators, who believe that the blaze may have been sparked by an iron accidentally left on in the back of the showroom. 

The two neighbouring suites in the strip mall at the intersection of Singleton Road and Jimmy Carter Boulevard, China Wok and a vacant shop that used to be Jackson Hewitt Tax Services, both sustained slight smoke damage. The former tax service suite had the glass broken on its front doors.  

The owner of Aleysa's Bridal Shop did not wish to comment on the fire when she was met at the scene.