Northwest OKC Apartment Fire Displaces Nearly 20 Residents

Oklahoma City firefighters said flames could be seen as they jetted out of a northwest OKC apartment building's roof Wednesday morning.  

According to firefighters, the high winds coupled with how fast the fire was able to spread could have presented more challenges for evacuating residents. Fortunately, no residents were injured.

Authorities said the first apartment to catch fire did not have a working smoke alarm.

"I just heard a whole bunch of yelling. ‘Get out, get out, get out,’” resident Joshua Lenard said.

Lenard and others were jolted awake as flames and smoke consumed the Heritage House II apartments.

"Then I look out, I see these big ol’ (sic) flames on the top of the building," Lenard said.

Residents began to evacuate before firefighters arrived on scene. Crews ran inside the building to help when they pulled up, but the fire grew.

"The fire was still developing though and, once it broke through the roof, the decision was made: ‘Let's get them back outside,’" Oklahoma City Fire Department battalion chief Benny Fulkerson said. "When you have an open gable at the end of one building and there is a strong wind -- depending on which way it was going -- it can cause the fire to spread even more."

One firefighter was hurt when he was hit by a hose line, but EMSA checked him out and they rejoined his crew.

Nineteen people have been displaced from the six apartments involved in the fire. Firefighters also rescued a dog, two cats and four snakes.

"We're not obviously trained to handle some of these pets," Fulkerson said. “Oftentimes, they're in a cage or in some type of an enclosure, and we typically remove those in the enclosure."

Investigators believe the cause was electrical. Officials said the fire can serve as a good reminder to landlords and tenants alike to check smoke alarms.

"You think about this particular fire, it happened at 4:30 in the morning. This is when people are asleep," Fulkerson said. "Tennant-landlord agreement is the landlord is responsible to make sure that you have working smoke alarms when you move in. A lot of times, it's up to the person who is living there, the tenant to maintain those.”

The apartment complex has moved those 19 people into other units on the property.

The fire caused approximately $150,000 in damages.