Alayna Poole sat on a curb and cried silently Wednesday as she watched firefighters battle the flames and smoke coming from her apartment on Ashlawn Court.
She said she feared that her family's dog, Boo, a Maltese, was unable to escape the fire, but she hoped that the dog would survive. Late Wednesday, firefighters picking through the rubble had not found the dog.
"My sister called me because she thought I was at home when (the fire) started," Poole said.
The fire severely damaged an apartment building at 3725 Ashlawn Court in the Sherwood Ridges apartment complex. No one was injured, but the fire forced nearby residents to leave their homes, said Assistant Chief Freddie Broome of the Winston-Salem Fire Department.
When firefighters arrived shortly after 4 p.m., they saw smoke and flames coming from the building's roof, Broome said. Nearly 30 minutes later, flames moved to the back of the burning building and billowed black smoke over the northern part of the city.
About 60 residents stood outside the building and watched firefighters work. Officials were not sure how many people were displaced, but Broome said that the affected building has 10 units and eight are occupied. It took firefighters about 90 minutes to put out the fire.
The fire was sparked by an electrical short in a fan in one of the apartments, Battalion Chief Robert Ellis said late Wednesday night. The fire caused about $450,000 in damage to the property and contents, Ellis said.
Jeffrey Hazelwood, a resident of a nearby building, said he was outside smoking a cigarette when he heard popping noises coming from the building.
"I looked around and I saw the smoke," Hazelwood said. "I stayed out here and watched the place burn down."
Frederick Huffin, another neighbor, said that a property manager knocked on doors and ordered everyone out of their apartments when the fire started. He said that a maintenance man was the first person to see the fire and reported it.
"I saw the flames when I came outside," Huffin said. "It was coming through the roof."
Martha and Johnny Wilson said they were concerned the fire may have spread to their apartment, which is next to the one that burned.
"I just saw the flame, and I just knew that my apartment was on fire," Martha Wilson said.
Nicole Maynard, who lives behind the burned apartment, said that her son told her that he saw the fire, and she called 911.
"My son opened up the blinds to the back door and saw that a small flame was shooting out of the top balcony on the right side," Maynard said. "In about five minutes, the whole unit was up in flames. As far as we know, the only thing that was in the apartment was a dog, no people.
"The fire was a big mess," Maynard said. "It was so bad."
Melina Burns said she saw the flames and the smoke when she came home from work, and is worried about her safety because other recent fires have occurred in the complex.
"This is the second fire within the last month or two, which is too close for comfort and just too bad," Burns said.
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