10:47 p.m. UPDATE: Fire displaces 48; neighbors show heroism

August 31, 2008 10:47 pm

— ANDERSON — A fire consumed the second story of a Hoosier Woods apartment building Sunday afternoon, displacing 48 residents.
Anderson firefighters arrived on scene at 3905 Winner’s Circle after receiving the dispatch at 5:02 p.m. and immediately began battling the rapidly-spreading fire from the sky, showering the flames with water from two ladder trucks.
All 16 residents home at the time of the fire were safely escorted outdoors by firefighters and neighbors who knocked on doors and knocked down doors, warning inhabitants about the fire above.
Neighbors on the scene said they first noticed small puffs of smoke that soon turned into flames and engulfed the roof of the building minutes later.
Anderson resident Brian Ross, 20, noticed the smoke while standing on the porch at a nearby apartment building and soon found himself in the burning building searching for children.
According to Ross, a woman ran from the burning building screaming and crying. “We ran over here and this lady was crying, saying she had two babies locked inside.”
Without a second thought, Ross said he rushed to the apartment. Once inside, Ross could smell smoke filling the room. “I had to kick in the door and I got the baby out of the shower and put a towel around her.”
Snatching the unidentified toddler from the shower, Ross then rushed into an adjacent room and scooped up an infant on a breathing machine.
With a child in each arm, Ross ran outside while smoke filled the room as another good Samaritan saved the family’s dog.
The Herald Bulletin was unable to identify the family saved by Ross at press time.
Ross and his friend, Jake Hudson, then ran from apartment to apartment knocking on doors to alert neighbors of the growing fire in the roof.
Ross, who said he wants to become a volunteer firefighter, said Sunday’s events answered a question for him. Everyone always wonders if they will go into a burning building, he said.
Now, he knows.
Amanda Bronnenberg, 27, and her roommates live in a building near the site of the fire and said she was among the first to notice the fire.
“I was actually the one that called 911,” Bronnenberg said.
“We were jerking people out of their homes, banging on doors. I even had some woman throw her naked baby at me,” Bronnenberg said.
Some residents had no idea their building was on fire. Tracy Caplinger was one of them. Caplinger was asleep inside her apartment when she heard someone yell “call 911”. Caplinger rose from her bed and looked out the window only to see her neighbors staring up at her building from the street.
After grabbing her fiancé and a few pictures, Caplinger fled the building.
Anderson Assistant Fire Chief Dave Cravens said firefighters cleared all rooms in all apartments, convinced that each resident had made it safely out of the building. Firefighters also saved a dog trapped in one apartment.
Cravens said the fire was extinguished by 6:02 p.m. Sunday but firefighters remained on scene to extinguish small flare-up fires and hot spots in the building.The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Two buses were parked at Maple Grove Church of God, just blocks from the fire, to give residents relief from the 88-degree heat while a single bus was parked in front of the burning structure, offering firefighters an air-conditioned break.
The Indianapolis Red Cross was contacted and arrived at 6 p.m. and began coordinating temporary housing for the 48 newly homeless residents.
While the fire burned, residents lined up along 38th Street as the fire engulfed the second story of the building. Some comforted loved ones who’d lost everything while others shook their heads in a mix of disbelief and empathy.
Shelton Sims lives in the complex near the site of the fire and said the fire made him think about his own apartment. “Just seeing how quickly this went up, it makes you wonder if everyone around you, how safe they are, how careless they could be.”
Anderson Community Schools board member Tobi Jones said Sunday night that families affected by the fire should not worry about buying new school uniforms for their children. She said she’s asked principals to check their uniform reserves to supply the schoolchildren with new uniforms.
After spending the afternoon pulling neighbors from their homes and watching flames destroy the building, Bronnenberg and her roommates have decided to try and help those displaced by the flames.
Monday, Bronnenberg and a handful of others will set up a table at 8 a.m. in front of the Hoosier Woods office within the complex. They are hoping to collect household donations to help their neighbors rebuild what was lost in the fire.
While the fire did not spread to much of the first story, Bronnenberg said flames weren’t the only threat to residents. “Everything below is going to be water damaged — even where the floor did not fall in.”
All 48 residents, including those whose apartments were only flooded, are going to need new household items, she said.
Bronnenberg said she will be collecting donations Monday for as long as donors show up and has even secured a van to pick up furniture donations that donors cannot bring to the apartment complex.
All donated items will be stored by Hoosier Woods management and distributed to residents, Bronnenberg said.
Those interested in donating should call (765) 393-3138.
“Think about if it was your family. You have just absolutely lost everything,” Bronnenberg said.

To donate to displaced residents
• Household items are being collected Monday at the Hoosier Woods main office, 3833 Hoosier Woods Court, Anderson. Those interested in donating should call (765) 393-3138.

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