Several families left without homes following apartment fire in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Several people are without homes following an apartment fire on Amour Road in Columbus.

According to officials, around 2 p.m., black smoke could be seen from miles away coming from the Northwood Apartment complex when police were called to the scene.

One resident says he was sitting on his couch and heard an unfamiliar sound, prompting him to look out the window.

“It looked to be the top was the big source of it, and it just was going crazy up there going really fast. I could see the roof just falling apart really, really quickly.”

Over five engines were on the scene, battling this apartment fire off Amour Road. Fire Marshall John Shulls says it was fortunate that no one was injured.

“Just after 2:10, our units responded to the apartment complex behind me. We had a total of eight units, but they were separated by our firewall. Four units were involved in the fire. You can see that there were severe destruction from the fire, and we have a total so far. It’s been reported that we have a total of nine people displaced to include one child,” said Shull.

That firewall the fire marshall mentioned saved other residents from losing everything.

“The firewalls play such an important part. There was another recent fire where everything on the other side of the wall was safe so you do end up getting some damage, but it, you know, the big thing here is it’s all about life safety. You know. So it buys time for occupants to get out of the structure and in this case, it also saves some of the structure as well,” continued Shull.

The Red Cross is assisting the impacted families.

There is no official word on the cause of the fire. Authorities will continue to investigate.

Copyright 2023 WTVM. All rights reserved.