Copyright 2005 The Birmingham News
All Rights Reserved
By JON ANDERSON
Staff Writer
Birmingham News (Alabama)
HOOVER, Ala. - Arson is to blame for fires early Monday that damaged 22 units at Cedarbrook Apartments in Hoover, forcing an estimated 60 people from their homes, fire officials said.
Someone started fires on two patios in separate apartment buildings at the complex off Lorna and Rocky Ridge Ranch roads, Hoover fire officials said.
Fifteen apartments are uninhabitable, and others have smoke or water damage, said Phyllis Snyder-Kelsey, vice president for Engel Realty Co., which manages Cedarbrook.
Those 15 families lost most, if not all, of their belongings, said Brooke Cochran, a supervisor for the American Red Cross who was assisting residents with food and clothing needs.
The fires remain under investigation, but ''we know at this point it’s not an accidental fire,’' Hoover’s acting fire marshal, Rod Williams, said.
No apartment residents were injured, but three firefighters had minor injuries, fire Battalion Chief Frank Brocato said.
The fires were reported about 1:15 a.m., and when firefighters arrived, two buildings were blazing, Brocato said.
''We had two major fires going on, and we had a third building that was threatened, and the fire had already begun to extend to it,’' he said. ''We essentially had three large buildings we had to evacuate.’'
Eight engine companies, including two from Vestavia Hills; two ladder trucks, and two rescue units responded to the fires, Brocato said. It took about an hour to get the fire under control, he said.
Thirty families were displaced at least temporarily, but some were expected to return to their apartments once the Fire Department releases the scene and power is restored to the buildings that were partially damaged, Snyder-Kelsey said.
Engel Realty was working to find alternative lodging for displaced residents, either within Cedarbrook or at other apartment complexes managed by Engel, she said.
Many people were asleep when the fire was discovered and escaped with only their pajamas.
One family was previously displaced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina and had moved into Cedarbrook four weeks ago. ''They’ve lost everything again,’' Brocato said.
''To go through this twice, you can’t begin to comprehend, to start all over - all over again,’' Renee Joyner said. ''It’s hard, but I thank God I’m alive.’'
She, her husband, Mike Isom, and 15-year-old son, Louis Joyner, were asleep when they heard people yelling ''fire!’' and saw people running away from the buildings, she said. She got out with just her pajamas and no shoes, she said.
Other people in the complex provided her with clothes to wear. ''People have really been nice,’' she said. Her family planned to stay in a hotel Monday night. She said she wasn’t sure what they would do in the future.
Because of frequent moves, her son already has been in three schools since leaving New Orleans, she said. He’s now at Spain Park High School.
Jeff Hollingsworth, 29, said he was still awake, using his computer, when he smelled smoke through his open window. At first, he thought the smoke was from a car running outside. But after a while, he put his shoes on, peeked out and discovered the building was on fire. He escaped with his wallet and car keys, he said.
A firefighter later discovered Hollingsworth’s pet snake, a 6-foot-long Colombian red-tail boa constrictor, that had survived the fire. One of Hoover’s animal control officers, Robert Davis, took the snake and at least two dogs belonging to displaced residents to the Vestavia Animal Clinic for temporary boarding.
Email: janderson@bhamnews.com