“There was no fire alarms,” said Judy Dennis, who lives in the apartment building. “I never heard a thing until some girl came to the door and said there’s a fire in here — get out.”
According to residents at the scene, the fire started in apartment 109 and
the woman who lived there frantically tried to put the flames out before
things got out of hand. She was taken to hospital by ambulance for shock, but
otherwise seemed unharmed.
The repeated concern expressed by residents was that the alarm system, and sprinkler system, did not seem to engage as the building filled with smoke.
“Usually, a little stove fire and the whole place gores off,” said Clark Spence. “But not this time.”
He said the power usually goes off at the building when that happens as well. But that didn’t happen.
As the fire worsened, relatives of those who live in the apartment rushed to the scene as police tried to block off the area.
“I heard it over the police scanner,” said Darlene Nelson. “I said the Elizabeth apartments, my sister lives there.”
Nelson watched the flames grow as she stood beside her sister in disbelief.
“Look at it, it’s just getting worse,” she said. “Oh man.”
Nelson blamed the event on the cold weather, although other residents suggested a lit cigarettecould be to blame.
“With all the cold weather we’ve had people just keep cranking the heat,” she said.
Thirty minutes after the blaze began police removed a woman who was still inside. The elderly women screamed and fought police as she attempted to get back inside in the building to grab her possessions.
Fourty-five minutes after the fire began another resident walked out of the building. He said he had not heard an alarms and had only been alerted to the danger after a phone call.
“I didn’t know who they were, they just said you better get out of the building,” said Brady Johnston who lives in the middle section of the three-part building.
The Fire Department had not released an official cause for the fire as they were still fighting the blaze at press time.