Several dozen people won't be able to return home Wednesday night after a fire tore through a building at the Timber Top apartment complex. It was first reported shortly before 4:30 p.m at building 24 on Tree Top Trail.
“I heard an explosion when I was in the house. I stepped out on my balcony to see what was going on,” said Joshua Robertson, who lives in the building with his girlfriend, Laurel Williamson. “Within minutes, everything’s gone."
19 of the building's 26 apartments were occupied. Fire investigators confirmed every person was accounted for Wednesday night and no injuries were reported.
Some residents, including Robertson and Williamson, could not evacuate all of their pets before the conditions became unsafe.
“I heard the bang too, but I went right back to sleep. And then I heard him yelling for me. We just tried to get all of our animals out. We left behind 3 cats in there,” Williamson said.
"We tried, but the fire engulfed us," Roberson added. "It was terrible. We lost everything."
Fire crews were able to keep the fire from spreading to neighboring apartments. They fully contained it around 8:45 p.m., but flames and smoke heavily damaged building 24.
“It looks like they’ll be displaced," said Akron Fire Lt. Tim Morrison of the residents. "That’s why we called the Red Cross to come out.”
Many were coming to terms with losing their possessions and home.
“There are a lot of sentimental things in there I’m probably going to lose. I’m just mentally trying to prepare myself for that now,” said building 24 resident Andrew Miller.
The fire was the second tragedy at the Timber Top apartment complex in recent months. In October, one woman died and others were sickened by a carbon monoxide leak in a different building. The incident inspired new legislation in Akron.
The fire is sparking new questions from people who live in the complex.
“Everybody was up in arms about that, which they rightfully should be," Miller said of the CO leak. "We don’t know the cause, don’t know what happened, a lot of unknowns… but something’s got to change around here.”
The Akron Fire Department is investigating the cause and origin of the fire.
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