cisselt posted on April 01, 2011 11:45
Fire damages eight Raleigh condos
Red Cross Volunteers Respond to Second Apartment Fire this Week
From WRAL.com - click here for story, images and video
Raleigh, N.C. — A large fire caused the attic of a condominium building in Raleigh to collapse Friday morning, damaging the homes of at least eight people.
Raleigh firefighters said they were called to the fire at Martinique Condos, at 4505 Edwards Mill Road, at 9:19 a.m. Winds helped the fire spread, but crews brought it under control quickly.
One elderly person had to be helped from the building, and firefighters also rescued several cats and dogs. No injuries were reported.
Firefighters said the blaze started in an upstairs unit and moved into the attic. A firewall prevented the blaze from crossing into the other half of the 16-unit building.
The attic collapsed into two condos, and six others sustained smoke and water damage.
The building had smoke alarms but no sprinklers, firefighters said. A resident said he was awakened up by his dog barking and smoke alarms going off.
The cause of the fire is unknown. Firefighters said no one was at home in the condo where the fire started.
The Red Cross is helping the displaced people find homes.
Edwards Mill and Creedmoor roads have been reopened.
This is the second major fire at an apartment or condominium complex in Raleigh this week.
On Wednesday, firefighters battled a blaze for an hour at Cedar Springs Apartments on Spring Forest Road. The fire started in the attic of a 12-unit building and caused the roof to collapse.