A west Houston apartment complex was the scene of a blaze that damaged 12 units late Thursday evening, as reported by KTRK. According to the Houston Fire Department, the fire department responded near S. Kirkwood Road on the 11770 block of Westheimer Road just before 10 p.m.
The fire was primarily on the second floor, requiring firefighters to launch an offensive attack to contain it. An ensuing water damage has affected the lower floor, and the roof of the building has sustained significant damage. The Houston Fire Department said that all residents escaped safely prior to their arrival, but one firefighter was injured and taken to a hospital for further evaluation. "Officials later confirmed he is expected to be OK," according to KTRK.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, prompting the arson department to step in for investigation. The American Red Cross was reported to have arrived to support the displaced victims. "The Red Cross arrived at the complex to help displaced people," said fire officials as per KTRK.
Compounding the trauma of the fire, residents are left to deal with the aftermath of the destruction to their homes. "We can’t even see if there’s anything that’s salvageable. By the time they probably let us in, everything will be ruined from water damage," a resident, Victoria Nash, told FOX 26 Houston. Another resident, LA Honore, suspects the fire started due to a malfunctioning dryer, adding, "She said that she had put in multiple maintenance requests to have her dryer serviced, and they hadn’t made it yet. And by the time she used it, it blew up, and it caught very fast, like very fast," to FOX 26 Houston.
The residents, forced out due to the fire, narrated the harrowing experience. "Having to find a place to live in the middle of the night, that was not fun," Nash recollected in a statement obtained by FOX 26 Houston. Nash and her neighbors now face the arduous process of rebuilding their lives in the fire's wake. "It was so terrible to watch. Like all of our stuff, we couldn’t do anything at all. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone cause now I have to start all over," she told FOX 26 Houston.
