Fire tore through a Grapevine apartment complex Monday night, leaving dozens of people with no place to call home.
Firefighters saw smoke and flames when they arrived at Ridge Crest Apartments on Mustang Drive at around 10:30 p.m.
Residents say the fire started in a first floor apartment and quickly spread through two buildings. The fire destroyed as many as a dozen apartments.
Shrieks of terror from residents warned Maria Aracia and others their buildings were on fire.
"Fire! Everybody go out of the house," Aracia said her neighbors shouted.
"It was terrible, everyone's screaming," said fire victim Daniel Navarro.
“I was scared so much,” said Aracia. Aracia's cousin shattered the bedroom window trying to escape from the flames. He cut his arm and had to get 8 to10 stitches.
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A firefighter dislocated his shoulder battling the flames. Crews also battled the wind and rain.
The American Red Cross is helping the families who have been impacted with a place to stay, food and clothing. 31 people, including 6 kids, can’t return home.
Managers at the complex are working with residents who have lost nearly everything, trying to relocate them to other apartments in the complex.
"It's a little bit overwhelming right now. I'm just trying to make sure all my residents are taken care of right," said Ridge Crest Apartment manager Jeanette Terry.
Neighbors were able to quickly return home Tuesday morning and salvage what they could, but there isn't much left.
Residents are just thankful everyone made it out alive.
"Everybody is okay," said Navarro. "Thank you, God, everyone is okay."
The fire marshal says the cause of the fire will be "undetermined" but that the fire started in a first floor apartment near the oven in the kitchen, but what exactly sparked it will be up to the insurance company to figure out.
