NW OKC apartment fire displaces 13, including family new to Oklahoma

A 3-alarm apartment fire in northwest Oklahoma City displaced 13 people on Friday morning, including a family that moved to Oklahoma from Florida last month. 

The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to Lakeside Village Apartments near West Wilshire Boulevard and North MacArthur Boulevard around 6:20 in the morning. 

Previous Coverage: Firefighters evacuate residents from NW OKC apartment fire

Shift Commander David Shearer said the fire displaced 13 people. 

“We just moved in here. We just paid rent,” said Rosita Collins, a mother to three with one on the way. “We’re not from Oklahoma, so we don’t have the resources, the family or support to help us out. I’m just angry.” 

 Collins said she moved into the apartment four days ago, after staying in local homeless shelters and their truck for the last several weeks. 

After watching their new home burn, the family experienced a brief moment of relief when they located their car keys. The eldest son squealed. 

“I was sleeping in the living room, then I woke up and saw fire in the roof,” the 11-year-old boy recalled. 

His dad, Jimmie Williams, said his son alerted him to the fire. He then tried to get his family out and extinguish the flames. 

“It was too much,” he remembered. 

Somewhere along the way, someone delivered Jimmie a pair of shoes in his size. He previously spent the morning walking barefoot outside. 

The family said the Red Cross reached out to offer a hotel for the next two days. Collins said the apartment complex told her that management would find them a new unit as soon as possible. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

To donate to the family’s GoFundMe, click here.