Fire Starts on Balcony, Spreads Through Okla. Condos

Jan. 01--A northwest Oklahoma City condominium unit is a "total loss" after a four-alarm fire raged there Tuesday afternoon.

Firefighters were called about 2:55 p.m. to Quail Springs Condominiums, 14415 N Pennsylvania Ave., and battled the fire for more than an hour.

The fire started on a balcony of the 16-unit building and then traveled into the attic, said District Chief Randy Williams, who is in charge of fire investigations.

The fire became a "wind driven fire" which is "kind of like dealing with a blow torch," Williams said.

Resident Amanda Miller didn't know her building was on fire until a firefighter "busted down" her door and woke her and her dog, Lola, up from a nap.

"He (the firefighter) was probably one of the first ones on the scene, and he just kicked my door in and told me to get out," she said. "I'm glad he did."

Miller put on sweats, a hoodie and shoes, grabbed Lola and her purse and ran out of her building and watched as firefighters tried to stop the fire from spreading.

"I didn't have time to grab nothing," Miller said. "I'm watching my whole life go up in smoke."

Miller is hopeful that her husband's military records are salvageable, but she isn't sure where her family is going to stay for the night.

She said she and her husband did not have renter's insurance.

As night fell, firefighters remained at the scene. Displaced residents spoke with the representatives from the American Red Cross.

Another condominium resident declined to comment on the record about the fire but said the condominium board will try to determine how the fire started.

Copyright 2014 - The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City