fire

Fire at FW Apartment Complex Displaces Dozens

A fire at a Fort Worth apartment complex left more than a dozen people without a place to stay Monday morning.

The fire started shortly before 8 a.m. at the Woodridge Apartments in the 500 block of Bobwhite Drive. Investigators said the fire started in an upstairs apartment and then spread through the attic.

A neighbor saw the fire and was able to help the person out of the unit where the fire started. Other neighbors then helped knock on doors to get other people out in surrounding apartments.

Steven Gunnels was one of the first neighbors to help.

"Well my fiancé heard some people screaming outside and I looked out the window and the building behind was up in flames," he said. "So I ran out and started to beat on doors and some people were asleep, so I had to kick the door in."

One person was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene, but was released.

Gunnels said paramedics checked him at the scene and told him he fractured his hand knocking on doors. He told NBC 5 he was headed to the hospital Monday afternoon.

Red Cross officials said they are helping 16 to 20 people impacted by the fire. The apartment management says they should be able to house everyone in vacant apartments at the complex or in another complex in the city.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Fire crews do say it started in a storage unit on a balcony in the northwest corner of the unit.

NBC 5's Chris Van Horne contributed to this report.

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