By Steve Lyttle
The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
CHARTLOTTE, NC — Firefighters and police officers pounded on doors before dawn Wednesday, rousing residents from their apartments as flames billowed from a building at an east Charlotte apartment complex.
Then, with all residents evacuated from the 20 apartments, firefighters managed to save half the burning building at the Creekwood Apartments off Village Lake Drive.
It took more than 60 firefighters about an hour to knock down the flames. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries, and no residents were hurt.
Fire officials ruled the blaze accidental and determined it was caused by smoking material discarded in a garbage bag on a wooden deck. They said the wood-framed building was more than two decades old, and didn’t have a sprinkler system. Several units were damaged, including five that will need significant repairs. Damage was estimated at $400,000.
The blaze was reported shortly before 6 a.m. at the complex, between East Independence Boulevard and Monroe Road. The first-responding firefighters from Station 29 on Margaret Wallace Road began their door-to-door alert.
“Firefighters hauled hoses into the stairwell in the middle of the building and made a stand,” Charlotte Fire Department Capt. Rob Brisley said. "... Half the building was saved -- along with a lot of valuable personal possessions.”
Copyright 2009 The Charlotte Observer