10 residents have been displaced by a two-alarm fire that broke out early Monday morning at The Boulders at Lake Ridge apartment complex.
A call was made to 9-1-1 at approximately 5:30 a.m. Monday. 15 Lubbock Fire Rescue units were dispatched to the scene at the 4400 block of 82nd street to battle the flames.
Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who are also residents at the complex, were the ones who made the initial 9-1-1 call. They said at the time, they didn’t realize how big the fire really was.
“We woke up to the fire alarm around 5:30. We didn’t think it was a big deal, so we just kind of pulled down the fire alarm and it stopped,” said Sister Nichols. “Then we went downstairs. I just grabbed my purse and my scriptures, and then we came out and called 9-11. They came and then there were flames coming out of the side.”
The Lubbock Fire Marshal’s office determined the cause of the fire to be accidental and to have originated in a heating and air conditioning unit. The fire was contained to one building, where there were four apartments. Three of those were occupied by the 10 residents. They were all able to evacuate safely, and no injuries were reported.
Two volunteers from the Lubbock Red Cross were also at the scene providing aid to the displaced residents. They are working with the community to raise monetary donations to help the residents, as well as their pets, replace some of their lost items.
“We have what we call care kits. It has shampoo, conditioner, soap, razor, things like that that you don’t want to have to run out and buy,” said Judy Pevytoe, American Red Cross Disaster Program Manager. “And well your pets are people too. They’re part of your family, so we do the same thing for them. We got care kits that have food, collars and little toys too.”
The Red Cross, along with the apartment complex, are also helping the residents find temporary housing.
Lubbock Fire Rescue says that they highly credit the smoke detectors for waking the residents just in time. They want to remind the public to monitor their detectors monthly to make sure they are working, and to change the batteries out twice a year when the time changes.
So, when it’s time to spring forward, remember to not only change your clocks, but the batteries in your smoke detectors as well.
If you would like to help those displaced residents through volunteering or a donation, you are encouraged to reach out to the Red Cross. You contact them at (806) 765-8534.
