Tennessee Apartment Fire Leaves 17 Families Homeless

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) -- Seventeen families were left homeless after a fire heavily damaged their apartment complex, officials said.

The blaze at South Side Apartments started about 4 p.m. Wednesday and firefighters had it under control within an hour. No one was injured and the cause was not immediately known.

The Red Cross worked to find temporary housing for the displaced families. The apartment building is a former motel that has 77 total units.

Fire Marshal Wayne Arnold said the building did not have a fire sprinkler system and was not required to have one. Smoke detectors in the units were working, he said.