Dozens were forced from their homes and into the freezing temperatures Monday night after a fire swept through part of a row of townhomes in Plano.
It happened about 8:45 p.m. at The Parker Apartments in the 4700 block of Charles Place in Plano.
A Plano Fire-Rescue battalion chief said the fire began in a second-floor unit and spread through the walls and into other homes, damaging 11 units in total. It took crews about 70 minutes to get the fire under control.
Tuesday afternoon residents were allowed in for a few hours to salvage what they could. One woman commented as she made trip after trip to the curb, that what took 3 days to move in, had to be moved out in 3 hours.
Between 40 and 50 residents were displaced because of damage from fire, water or smoke and power outages, the chief said. The American Red Cross was helping the residents forced from their homes.
"We've worked a long time to get where we're at," said Jamal Samuels, whose home sustained water damage. "I don't know what we're going to do next. Tomorrow I'll come pick up my stuff and we'll figure it out from there."
No injuries were reported.
