September 9, 2007
Blakely -- A charred kitchen cupboard, a burned out attic, debris scattered about the floor, and the smell of smoke still in the air; it is the aftermath of a fire that started inside this Blakely apartment just two hours earlier.
"This apartment suffered extensive damage in the kitchen, the attic, and in the living room. The fire spread into the attic and went over all three apartments," said Blakely Fire Chief Kenneth Jones.
The two-alarm fire started just before 1 AM Sunday at the Willis Cain Apartments off Howell Street in Blakely.
Blakely Fire Department responded to the call at 12:55 AM; arriving to find flames shooting through the roof, fearing that occupants were still inside.
"Three people were unaccounted for. There was a mother and her two young children unaccounted for when we received the alarm," said Jones.
Following a primary search, tragedy was averted. The children and their mother were not inside the burning apartment.
"We were happy to find out that everyone had escaped. Had anyone been inside the structure at the time we arrived, there would have likely been fatalities with the amount of heat and smoke," said Jones.
While no one was seriously injured, six people living in this 3 apartment complex were left homeless by the fire. A fire that started as a result an attended stove.
"The occupant had put something on the stove and dozed off. When he woke up, he found the kitchen blazing," said Jones.
Despite extensive damage to the apartment, the smoke alarm could still be hear beeping nearly two hours after the flames were diminished.
Jones said, "These particular apartments have a hard wired electrical smoke alarm with a battery backup. You need to make sure you have smoke detectors in operation inside your home."
We're told the Red Cross is assisting those victims.
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