Suspicious Alabama Apartment Fire Displaces Eight Families

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) -- A suspicious Decatur apartment fire displaced eight families, including one family that moved to the building after their home burned in August.

Yasser Alaydi's home burned Aug. 1. He moved his family into a hotel and then into The Lodges Apartments on Aug. 13.

``My 13-year-old son was watching TV and heard something hit the balcony,'' Alaydi said Tuesday. ``He looked out and saw smoke.''

Alaydi's apartment was the hardest hit in the 4 p.m. blaze, sustaining heavy fire and smoke damage.

Fire Lt. Russell Johnson said samples collected from the debris will likely determine whether an accelerant was present.

``It's suspicious because the fire started on the outside of the apartment,'' said Decatur Fire Marshal Darwin Clark. ``There were eight apartments. One had heavy fire damage and smoke damage, one had smoke damage and two had water damage.''