Residents left scrambling after Phoenix apartment fire destroys their homes
PHOENIX - Dozens of downtown Phoenix residents are mopping up the mess and moving out after a fire in their apartment complex destroyed their homes on Sunday.
About 40 residents were left without anywhere to call home.
2 separate fires erupt in Phoenix: Man hospitalized, dog killed, firefighters injured
Two separate fires in Phoenix on Sunday displaced dozens of people, injured two firefighters, sent a man to the hospital in critical condition and killed a dog.
What many don’t realize, is to put the fire out, crews have to douse the building with tons of water. The fire on the fourth floor is now major flooding on the bottom three floors.
The 24 apartments in Building D of the Midtown Flats apartment complex on 8th Avenue and Osborn Road are soaked in water.
Walls are stained by black smoke, and ceilings are soggy, bubbling with moisture and crumbling onto flooded floors in a thick sludge.
"I don’t know where I’m going to be sleeping at," said resident Andrew Mitchell.
40 residents were impacted, spending Monday moving what’s left of their belongings to the garages of friends and family, if they're lucky.
Others have no place to go after the fire ignited in an apartment on the fourth floor on Sept. 15. The fire quickly grew, billowing over the balcony and spreading through the hallway.
"I'm just glad to be alive. It could have been worse than this. I could have been in here or something, just falling asleep or got burnt. Luckily, I got out of here. It just sucks because we have nowhere to live for the next six months," Adrian Sutton said.
While this resident’s tone is optimistic, others aren't feeling the same.
"Little pissed off," Mitchell said.
No one was hurt, but the financial damage they’re incurring feels like death. And worse, the American Red Cross says some residents came home to dead pets.
"So, because the whole building is wet, the electrical system is wet. They had to turn off power to the entire building. In order for the power to be turned back on, the building has to dry out. It has to be inspected, and then the power can be turned back on. It can be a lengthy process," said Ken Edelblute of the American Red Cross in Phoenix.
The Red Cross is providing some financial assistance for those with nowhere to go, but that’s only for a few days.
"This is your apartment complex, you need to figure this out," Mitchell said.
A resident told FOX 10 that the management company is moving the resident to another complex, and keeping the rent price the same. It's unknown how many others management is doing this for.
The bad news is, the electronics of these residents are ruined. Rugs, furniture, anything of value, is soaked and has started to mildew in the heat.