'They All Have To Start Completely Over': Residents Left Without Home After Vinita Senior Apartments Fire

Dozens of Vinita residents are sleeping in shelters Friday night after their senior living apartment complex was destroyed in a fire.

News On 6 confirmed the fire started on the third floor of the complex.

To view the GoFundMe for those impacted, CLICK HERE.

Firefighters say 48 people live there, and many were inside when the fire started. Everyone made it out safely without serious injuries.

It took at least ten fire crews several hours to finally get the fire put out.

Roger Woolman is accused of intentionally setting the fire; he was arrested for arson.

Related: 1 In Custody, Accused Of Arson In Connection To Vinita Senior Apartments Fire

Community groups are now stepping in to help the 48 people who lost their homes.

At the community church, a shelter has been set up where about 10 to 20 people will stay Friday night. Some are waiting for family out of state, and others are unsure where they’ll go.

“Very relieved that they are safe and sound now we’re taking them home,” said a woman who came to pick up her uncle.

Family members rushed to pick up some of the seniors who live here in Vinita Friday as firefighters battled the flames.

48 seniors call the Burroughs Manor apartment building home, and now many have nothing but the clothes on their backs.

“They can't get to their clothing; they can't get to their bank card, they can't get to their cell phones. And so they all have to start completely all over,” said Kenneth Bailey, the pastor at the Pilgrim Presbyterian church next door.

The church is affiliated with the apartment building and offered a place for people to cool off during the fire.

Bailey says the community immediately jumped into action.

“Within 10 minutes, I was getting phone calls and texts from people saying, what's going on? And then people just started showing up,” he said.

Bailey says Red Cross volunteers, neighbors and other local churches are all offering help. 

“It was absolutely amazing to me that for a community that size to respond the way they did,” said Bailey.

Firefighters say the building is a total loss, and it's unclear when people will be able to return to living there.

Bailey says the big need right now for the residents is for housing.

“We don't have any idea. They won't let anybody in the building right now. So we don't have any idea how long it's going to be vacant,” he said.

Some residents are hoping they’ll be let back into the building soon.

“He just can’t wait to get back into his apartment once he can get back in,” said a family member of a resident.

The Red Cross is not sure how long they’ll have to keep the shelter open. But finding a long term solution for housing is the next step for many of these folks.