WEST CARROLLTON — John Thompson was asleep in the third-floor apartment of the building in the Woodhills Apartment complex off of S. Alex Rd. in West Carrollton when the apartment below his caught fire late Monday night.
“I was sleeping and it sounded like someone was breaking into my apartment,” Thompson said.
“I saw my living room was lit up and my deck was in flames and I just ran out as fast as I could,” he added.
Within minutes, the roof of Thompson’s apartment collapsed and he ran to safety at Renate Bermudez’s house.
“The flames just got worse and worse and all of a sudden his whole apartment was burning,” Bermudez said.
“It’s chilling to watch knowing someone you know is losing everything,” she added.
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Crews were called to the Woodhills Apartments in the 300 block of Woodhills Boulevard around 10:20 p.m. after the fire was reported.
Firefighters said a preliminary investigation found the blaze started in a unit on the second floor, spread to the third floor, and caused the roof of the third floor to collapse.
Of the 12 apartments in the building, everyone was able to make it out unharmed thanks to working smoke detectors.
No injuries were reported in the fire, however, four pets are believed to have perished in the fire, according to The West Carrolton Fire Captian.
“It was devastating,” Bermudez said.
The Red Cross was called in to assist the families of the 12 units, who were put in a hotel overnight.
Thompson said although he lost everything, he’s happy he’s okay and will be staying with his daughter until he gets back on his feet.
News Center 7′s Kayla Courvell reached out to the West Carrollton Fire Department to get an update on the investigation and was told that the cause of the fire was due to discarded smoking material.