Source The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
Oct. 01--A fire in the Highlander Place apartment complex in west Fayetteville on Friday afternoon knocked 22 people out of their homes, emergency officials said.
No injuries were reported. The cause was still under investigation Friday evening.
Highlander Place is on Northumberland Street off South Reilly Road near Cliffdale Road.
The fire was reported about 2:10 p.m., the Fire Department said. It gutted several apartments on the top floor of a three-story apartment building and damaged units below.
At least 12 units -- 10 of them occupied -- had fire and water damage and were uninhabitable, said Jerry Peterson, the manager of disaster operations for the local chapter of the Red Cross. Other units had water damage, he said, but the tenants were able to return home.
Resident Marvin Russell arrived at the scene not long after the first fire trucks got there and saw flames coming from his top-floor apartment. That section of the building and his possessions burned away through the afternoon.
"Now isn't the time to start over, you know?" Russell said as he watched fire fighters spray water into his apartment. He said he had been looking forward to his future: His girlfriend recently graduated from college, she had their baby on Wednesday and the couple were planning their wedding.
Russell said he had a lot of new furniture and no renters insurance.
Steven Jones, too, has no renter insurance. He said he lived one floor below Russell.
"It's all gone. My stuff is gone," he said.
He estimated he had $3,000 worth -- couches, a television, a bedroom suite. "Everything is new," he said. "Nothing is used." And, he said, he still is making payments on it.
Most of the tenants had no renters insurance, Peterson said.
Three families moved into other apartments and the remaining seven are staying for several days in hotels paid for by the Red Cross, Peterson said. The apartment company will try to offer them other apartments.
People who wish to offer help to the families are asked to call the apartment management at 864-0864, Peterson said.
The fire required a large response from the fire department. It was a two-alarm fire, said Richard Bradshaw, a battalion commander, meaning additional firefighters and equipment were summoned after the first ones arrived.
Residents had evacuated before the fire fighters arrived, Bradshaw said.
He estimated about 40 firefighters fought the fire: seven engine companies, three ladder companies, one rescue squad and three squads.
Staff writer Paul Woolverton can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3512.
