Fifteen people are searching for a new place to call home after a two alarm fire at an apartment complex on Bentree Lane in Indian Point. The American Red Cross helped seven families find shelter at hotels.
Fire Marshal Michael Creswell says a cigarette was not put out properly. He says the cigarette sparked a fire on a sofa inside one of the units that quickly spread and damaged several more.
Outside a Branson West Laundromat underneath a blue tarp, were the soot covered belongings of a couple displaced by the fire. Nichole Fuller says she and her boyfriend came home around 10:15 Tuesday night to find a fire inside their apartment. “We opened our door and the couch just went up in flames,” Fuller said.
Fuller says her boyfriend tossed everything he could out the window of their apartment to try and salvage some of their belongings. They brought what they could to the Laundromat to try to wash out the strong smell of smoke. “Our roof is gone, there is no house left, our bedroom is the only thing that didn't get burned,” Fuller said. “He is a builder, all of his tools, his air compressor, nail gun, everything that's how we make money and survive is gone,” Fuller said. “Everything there to take care of our family is gone.”
“Based on the investigation we performed there, the area of origin was determined to be around where the ash tray was which coincided with the arm rest of the sofa.,“ Creswell said. Fuller said the couple had not been home since about 8:00 Tuesday morning. “We weren't there all day,” Fuller said. “We left that morning so we weren't smoking but our roommate may have. He said he dumped the ash tray into the fireplace and left. It didn't start at the fire place they said the couch.”
The fire marshal says keeping ash trays clear can prevent a fire. He says firefighters are working with the owner to get the buildings up to code because they did not have working smoke detectors. “I couldn't believe it everything was gone. I felt bad for my neighbors,” Fuller said. “I don't know what happened I just kept apologizing to neighbors.”
It took firefighters about three hours to fight the fire. The fire marshal says several people put themselves in danger by running back into their apartment to grab items. He says once you are safely out of a fire you should stay out.
