BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The cold weather is being blamed for a fire that forced at least 50 residents of a Brevard County apartment complex to be evacuated from their homes late Thursday night.
Firefighters raced to keep a fire that broke out in one unit of the Courtenay Palms Apartments on Skylark Avenue in Merritt Island from spreading to the whole building.
Firefighters needed a ladder to get to tenants on the third floor of the four-story building.
The blaze ignited around 11:30pm, and more than 30 firefighters from three cities rushed to the scene. When they arrived, the thick smoke was difficult to bare.
"The room started smoking real bad. It started getting worse and worse and than they started to evacuate us," said Lynne Mullarkey, apartment complex resident.
Residents gathered and watched for hours in the cold as emergency crews worked to extinguish the flames.
One resident said her dog woke her up.
"I didn't realize there was a fire until I stepped out into the hallway and saw the smoke, you could smell it," said Gaye, fire victim.
Fire alarms in the complex sounded off and firefighters knocked on doors to get tenants out of the building.
The 911 call came from unit 900 where furniture was charred. Once the building was cleared of any potential dangers, tenants were allowed to return to their apartments.
The family that lived in that unit initially thought that their space heater started the fire. However, a Brevard County Fire Rescue investigator on scene confirmed the origin of the fire to be an air handler in that unit. The handler was part of a central heating and air unit.
The family of four, including two adults and two children, were displaced as a result of the fire and are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross.
WFTV
