Fire at my apartment complex! (Pics)

[Antisocial_Worker]

Honestly, I'm a little shaken up by this.

I didn't know anything had happened until a friend of mine at work texted me and asked if my apartment was alright. She couldn't make it to work last night because of the snow we've had over the past couple of days and she'd been watching the news... which was what I was heading to the breakroom to do myself.

What did I learn when I got there? Yes, at about 2 this morning one of the buildings in my complex caught fire. It destroyed nine apartments, and three people had to be rescued from their apartments by the fire department.

There happened to be another employee in the breakroom who lives in the same complex as me, and he called his family... who'd slept through the whole thing and had no idea anything was going on. I texted my one roommate who would be home at the time -- the other two work at another factory with the same schedule as mine, which means that when I'm at work, so are they.

Thankfully, my coworker's townhouse is directly across the creek from mine, which meant that the fire probably wasn't near us... But I didn't feel really sure until my roommate texted me back, a bit unhappy about me having woken her up.

Then I proceeded to get a phone call from my mom, and questions from several more coworkers who knew where I lived and what had happened...

Wow. When I got home this morning, I walked over to the damaged building. Destroyed is a better word, perhaps. I would have gotten closer and taken more pictures, but the fire department was still working, the parking lot was a solid sheet of ice from the water they'd used, and it's currently 19 degrees F here, with a windchill of 6, and I didn't really want to be out in that any longer than I had to.

This makes the second fire in a year in this complex. That makes me a little nervous, especially considering that the news is reporting that the fire department's arson task force is looking into things here.

[Dave1982]

Holy shit!!

I'm glad it wasn't your apartment.

[Taboo]

Woooooah. That's scary but I'm glad you're okay.

If I were you I'd go around and change the batteries in all the smoke detectors and test them, just for some peace of mind, especially if they think it may be related arson incidents. =(

[Crossbow]

Yeah, that's not damaged. That's destroyed. I'm glad you're ok and that everyone got out.

[telecom_goddess]

I second Dave...HOLY SHIT! Glad you're ok...and damn it looks colder than hell over there.

Something similar happened to an apartment complex I used to live in....I was home but at the other end of the property and had no idea anything was going on until my boss called to make sure I wasn't burned to death

[Frantic Freddie]

This makes the second fire in a year in this complex. That makes me a little nervous, especially considering that the news is reporting that the fire department's arson task force is looking into things here.

Yeah,something ain't quite right.Glad to hear you're OK.

[MoonCat]

So glad you're OK!

It would be interesting to find out what started those fires. If was arson, that's obviously bad and the cops will have to get into it. If it was electrical or something like that, I hope the owners check the rest of the buildings to be sure everything is up to code.

[Der Cute]

Glad you're ok. Interesting to see how THOROUGH the fire was.

Recently here in my complex, someone had a Ford F150 truck parked next to a building. Nose of truck 1 foot away.
Something happened, the engine caught on fire, truck then burned...cabin, bed, tired, it's TOAST. And because the truck was next to the building, you can see the soot marks about 10' up.
Some DINGLEBUTT would not get out of their apartment (the one that had soot). Everyone else got out.

[tropicsgoddess]

OMG, glad you're okay! Damn, those apartments were gutted! I hope the taskforce finds out what caused it or who.

[draggar]

I'm glad everyone made it out OK and I'm glad it wasn't your building.

On a side note - those are some good pictures. What camera did you use?

[BookstoreEscapee]

So glad you're OK!

It would be interesting to find out what started those fires. If was arson, that's obviously bad and the cops will have to get into it. If it was electrical or something like that, I hope the owners check the rest of the buildings to be sure everything is up to code.

Yeah, I don't know which prospect would make me more nervous...

There was a fire in a nearby complex a couple years ago. The first word in that complex's name is the same as the first word in my complex's name...my roommate's friend read about it and texted her to make sure she was ok.

[surreal20]

Thank God that you were not hurt! I hope that all those that were stuck in that fire are ok and being well taken care of!

I'm happy to hear it wasn't your apartment, but my heart goes out to those who's apartments it was.

[XCashier]

Honestly, I'm a little shaken up by this.

Can't say I blame you; I would be too. I'm glad you and your friends are okay. I also hope they find out who or what is the cause of this.

Something similar did happen to us; when we lived in the house in Phoenix, we were woken in the middle of the night by a loud BOOM! "That was an explosion!" I said. We looked out the window and saw a massive fireball in the air over the apartments kitty-corner from us.

Turns out that a disgruntled employee of the complex lived there, turned up his gas and blew up his apartment. Several of the residents were evacuated and stayed in the cafeteria of the nearby grade school and there was a helluva mess and a big story on the news. Yeah, scary stuff.

[Seshat]

Time to make a fire kit.

1. As someone else said, ensure your smoke detectors are in good order and properly placed.

2. Make sure both exits are clear at all times, and check for suitable tertiary exits (eg windows).

3. Make an evacuation pack. Clothing, medication, ID, toiletries.

4. Make certified photocopies of all important documents, especially insurance and ID. Keep those copies in a bank lockbox or similar location.

5. Take photographs of all your more expensive household goods, ideally dated photographs (most modern cameras will do that). Make sure they show condition, and for the ones which have make & model, take a photograph that shows that plate, clearly. Keep copies of those photos (even just a USB stick with them) in the lockbox.

Points 1 and 2 may save your life. Point 3 will make you more comfortable until insurance gets processed. Points 4 and 5 will make it harder for insurance to screw you over - and will make it easier to deal with all the rest of the paperwork hassles after a fire.

[Sonoma]

Wow. I don't even know what to say. Thank goodness you're OK, and your building wasn't involved. Hopefully they identify the cause soon so that it can be addressed, whether it's criminal or an accidental fire.