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Henderson apartment fire displaces 16 people

Henderson
Posted at 8:30 AM, Feb 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-03 23:13:59-05

Sixteen people were displaced Tuesday night after an apartment fire in Henderson.

The Henderson Fire Department responded to the fire around 9:10 p.m. on East Minister Court, near Burkholder Boulevard and North Major Avenue.

The first arriving engine company observed a fully involved fire in a second floor unit of a two-story apartment building.

Crews initiated an exterior attack and then quickly accessed the building interior to extinguish the fire. An aggressive attack by firefighters prevented the fire from extending into the other apartments in the six-unit building.

The residents were home and discovered the fire in a bedroom. They evacuated the apartment safely and had a neighbor call 911.

There were no injuries to residents or firefighters. Two pet birds perished in the fire.

The 16 people and various pets were displaced by the fire and are being assisted by the American Red Cross

Two of the displaced tenants allowed Action News to look around inside at the damage.
 
Tenant Devon Calahan is scared and unsure of the future. The father of 6 struggles to accept his new reality.
 
"I mean the whole entertainment center was engulfed in flames and I started panicking and I ran to the living room and told everybody it's a fire, it's a fire", Calahan told Action News.
 
He says he immediately grabbed his kids, ran outside and ordered a neighbor to call 911. Calahan’s first time back in his apartment was Wednesday.
 
"All of my TVs, he mourned. “All my kids’ Christmas presents. All their tablets."
 
He lost everything.
 
"Everything in here, I worked really hard to get and I appreciated it,” he says.
 
Officials say the fire began in Devon's unit on the second floor of the building. There are four units total. The 2 on the second floor got it the worst. One apartment downstairs went untouched.
 
"I didn't lose nothing," said Ramon Henry.
 
The property manager has given all of the tenant's their security deposit and February rent payments back.
 
Two of them have already been relocated to other units in the apartment complex. 

The cause of the fire has not been determined. The total loss is estimated at $518,400 for the building and $50,000 for building contents.

If you would like to make a donation to Calahan's family, click here.

 

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