16 displaced in apartment fire
Published 10:59 pm Saturday, October 24, 2009
Travas Vaughan and her five children had only been at her sons’ football game for about 15 minutes when someone called to tell her that her apartment was on fire.
“I’ve been here for 10 years,” she said. “This was my first apartment. Now I’ve got to go somewhere and start over.”
Vaughan and her children were six of 16 people, including 13 children, displaced in an apartment fire on Stacey Drive Saturday.
The fire started in a shed behind the apartments about 12:30 p.m., and spread to the building. One apartment was damaged by fire, and two others suffered smoke and water damage. No injuries were reported, city spokeswoman Debbie George said. Fire marshals still were investigating how the fire started.
The American Red Cross Disaster Action Team was on the scene of the fire. Cathy Richards, a member of the team, said the Red Cross will provide lodging assistance for all the families through the weekend. The manager for the Cypress Manor community said other apartments would be available on Monday.
Earlier in the day, a separate fire at 610 Harrison St. displaced two adults. The American Red Cross Disaster Action Team also responded to that fire, said Ashley Greene, development director for the Suffolk chapter of the American Red Cross.