One person was sent to the hospital Wednesday morning after lightning ignited a fire that spread through several units of an apartment building in Southwest Fort Worth, firefighters say.
A Fort Worth Fire spokesman said crews were first called shortly before 5 a.m. to a fire at an apartment complex in the 6800 block of Bayline Drive, one of several fires reported as thunderstorms moved through the area. Neighbors said they were awakened by a loud crack of lightning.
“We were dead asleep and we hear this loud 'pow' and then we hear our neighbor screaming, ‘fire! Fire!’ and beating on doors,” said Chiemeka Izundu.
Izundu and his fiancé escaped and helped fellow neighbors to safety as they watched the fire spread from one top-story unit to another.
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“It’s one thing to see it. It’s another to live. Honestly, it’s traumatizing,” said resident Jessica Talbert.
Crews arrived to find flames soaring from the 2-story building. It took about 70 firefighters two and a half hours to put the fire out.
One person was taken to a hospital. Details on their injuries weren't immediately available.
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A total of eight units were damaged by the fire with 20 residents affected.
The American Red Cross Greater North Texas was helping those forced from their homes. Izundu and Talbert are among those receiving assistance.
“As much as you think you’re prepared for something like this you never can be,” Izundu said. “We lost everything in the blink of an eye.”
