Juan Martinez woke early Sunday morning to the sound of his next-door neighbor’s screaming on her apartment balcony and the smell of something burning.
The 38-year-old got out of bed and found flames coming into his Hazel Dell apartment through the dining room window. He remembers seeing the window blinds melt.
Martinez’s apartment was among the 18 units in the M building at Bridge Creek Apartment Homes that were damaged by fire Sunday morning. The fire started in the building’s third-story walkway, according to Clark County Fire District 6 spokeswoman Sarah Mitchelson. The cause hasn’t yet been determined.
Clark County Assistant Fire Marshal Richard Martin said about a dozen people still needed to be interviewed but that he expects the cause to be reported today.
The fire at the complex, 9211 N.E. 15th Ave., was reported at 5:12 a.m.
Martinez said everything happened too quickly for him to worry about anything besides getting the children in his apartment to safety.
After waking his 9-year-old son and 7-year-old nephew, who had stayed the night, he grabbed one in each arm and made his way toward the door. The flames were rolling through his third-floor apartment, circling the front door. Fire singed his left shoulder, his back and the bottom of his feet as he crawled outside with the two boys.
Firefighters arrived and used a ladder to rescue the neighbor trapped on her third-floor balcony. The blaze eventually escalated to a three-alarm fire that took crews about two hours to contain. Seventy people were displaced, Mitchelson estimated.
Martinez and his son stayed overnight at his sister-in-law’s house. After getting treated for his burns, he bought a new cellphone, got a new copy of his driver’s license and swung by the bank to figure out his finances.
“Everything is lost,” he said.
Martinez lived in his apartment for more than two years and hasn’t been able to return to see if he can recover any of his belongings.
The apartment office at Bridge Creek is accepting donations to help out displaced residents. Because some residents are staying at shelters without kitchens, gift cards to restaurants and grocery stores are particularly helpful, organizers said. They’re also asking for toiletries, clothing of all sizes, diapers, baby wipes and school supplies, or gift cards to stores that sell those items.
One family asked for car seats for two children, ages 10 months and 3 years, said Ayanna Nance, who’s helping with the donation efforts.
People interested in donating can contact Bridge Creek at 360-573-1419 or email Reign Pro, a local music group that’s assisting the complex, at reignpronw@gmail.com.
