Several Tenants Displaced After Fire Destroys Norman Apartment Building

A roaring fire consumes an apartment building just outside the University of Oklahoma with people dashing for the exit. 

 It happened at Norman Commons apartment complex just before 4 a.m. Friday.

Everyone got out of Building O, but many residents lost everything.

Brandon Riley was getting ready for work, when he immediately noticed something off.

"The next thing I know I start hearing this wind outside and I’m like is that just a strong wind or what?” said Riley. “I look out the living room window and there is a fire that is blazing.”

After arriving on scene, police and fire crews worked to evacuate over 70 apartments.

Riley dodged flames and debris barefoot, and quickly made it to safety with his roommates. But, his newly purchased TV did not.

“$2,000, that now, I have to pay because I did not have renter’s insurance,” said Riley.

University of Oklahoma sophomore Bashop Craig was studying for finals when he heard a loud explosion in his apartment. He lost all of his school work including books, notes, even his laptop.

One pe son received minor injuries trying to get to safety by a rope from the third floor.

 It'll take investigators at least a week to process what went wrong.

“A lot of times in a fire you have collapses, and a lot of the structure falls down on what originally started the fire,” said Mike Wilson, Deputy Fire Chief at Norman Fire.

“Investigators have got to dig through a lot of the stuff. It's pretty time-consuming and continuous work,” Wilson continued.

The Red Cross and the University of Oklahoma Student Affairs office is working with victims of this fire to get them back on their feet.

Watch Below: Norman police officers respond to the blaze: