RACINE, Wis. — 30 people are displaced after an apartment building caught on fire in Racine on Monday.
According to the City of Racine Fire Department, 26 units in the 40-unit apartment building were occupied.
Thick black smoke filled the air in the early afternoon of Monday in the 2000 block of Washington Ave. Firefighters say strong winds out of the north fanned the flames of burning roof insulation and created thick black smoke that responders could not see through.
Neighbors provided video that shows the severity.
Video credit-Foe Breezy
"I seen all this black smoke on the other side of town and I got closer and closer and I wondering who's house is that," Otha King, a resident, said.
Otha King was driving back home from the store when he first saw the smoke.
"I kept getting closer and closer and closer. Come to find out it was my house and my building and it was burning," he said.
King and a few other residents took shelter from the frigid air in a bus while fire crews worked to get the fire under control. Those firefighters climbed to the third floor to try to put the fire out while others searched the building for anyone still inside. They were only able to spend 15 minutes inside before it became clear the roof may collapse and it was too dangerous to stay in the building. Firefighters continued to fight the blaze from ladder trucks outside. It took about an hour to get the fire under control.
"I never thought this in a million years, never would have thought it," King said.
The American Red Cross said no one was injured and everyone was accounted for. Firefighters add that they were able to prevent the roof from caving in and ultimately saved the building. About a third of the roof was destroyed by the fire. All three floors and the basement have major water damage.
Leanna Jones is the daughter of a resident.
"Looking at the pictures, it's all black, that's all you see, you don't think that anyone is okay when you see something that big," Jones said.
She says her heart sank when she saw all the photos and videos online.
"My dad said as soon as they heard the alarm, they just, they didn't grab their coats or anything. My grandma is still in her house shoes," Jones shared.
Her 91-year-old grandmother, her father, and her cousin call the Parkview Manor Apartments home. She called it devastating, "This is a very sad thing to happen right before Christmas, but like we are definitely going to stay positive. And as a family, we are going to make sure the holiday is still a good one."
The Red Cross is working to find shelter for everyone involved. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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