Lubbock, Texas Fire Destroys 32 Apartments, Displaces Dozens

Sept. 03--Thirty-two apartments were left in ruins after a fire raged just west of Lubbock Christian University Monday.

Residents of the Oak Creek Apartments at 5810 24th St. lined the walls of nearby buildings, watching as firefighters used large hoses to spray the building's charred remains.

The fire originated in a second-floor unit located in the middle of the complex. The resident, who called 911 at 2:30 p.m., told dispatch he had dropped a cigarette into a load of laundry, according to Battalion Chief Emery Meunier.

A fire marshal was on the scene to conduct a formal investigation.

The American Red Cross South Plains Regional Chapter posted to their Twitter account Monday that the last time they were at the Oak Creek Apartments was Jan. 20, 2011, when a similar fire destroyed a building and displaced 36 adults and 15 children.

According to an Avalanche-Journal story, the complex was then named Twin Oaks. Some residents reportedly lost all their belongings in that fire, including pets.

On Monday, Abel Betancourt stood to the side of the action, watching with his hands behind his head as a team of firefighters sprayed his unit with water, vanquishing any semblance of flame that was left.

Betancourt smelled smoke, he said, and quickly got his wife and children out of the apartment, a first-floor unit on the corner of the building. They grabbed clothes, food and a laptop as they ran out the front door.

When Betancourt was assured his family was safe, he said he and a few other residents of the apartment complex began knocking on neighbors' doors and kicking them in when there was no response.

"Everybody got out pretty fast," Betancourt said. "They got some stuff out like we did and took off."

Betancourt's family did have renter's insurance, but that wasn't easing his mind. His unit is sure to have severe water and smoke damage, he said.

"It's horrible, especially on Labor Day, for something like this to happen," Betancourt said. He's hopeful, however, that not everything inside was lost.

Latoya Gibson was also mourning the state of her home, the unit next to where the fire is believed to have started on the east side of the building. Her boyfriend smelled the smoke and rushed her and their five kids outside before their unit was destroyed, she said.

Kelly Morman, spokesman for the Lubbock Fire Department, said in a news conference the fire took approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes to get under control.

The units in the building all shared a common attic space, and the fire spread rapidly through the roof. A team of approximately 30 firefighters with two trucks used defensive tactics to put it out from outside the building.

There were no injuries, but Morman said an individual was taken to the hospital concerning smoke inhalation.

The American Red Cross South Plains Regional Chapter was also there, making plans for the welfare of the 27 families who would be displaced.

The local Red Cross Twitter said the shelter would open Monday, Sept. 3, at 8 p.m. at Bacon Heights Baptist Church 54th Street and Slide Road.

Meanwhile, Brandon and Stephanie Key of the Little Caesars on 19th Street were feeding the victims and the firefighters with 30 boxes of donated pizza.

The couple said they had been watching the fire from the street when a little girl ran up to Stephanie Key and hugged her leg, crying because her home was in flames.

"We had to do something," Brandon Key said. "It's the least we could do."

At 6 p.m. Monday, Bill Curnow said the Red Cross still did not have a head count of people affected. By that time, the fire department had deemed a majority of the homes destroyed.

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