Video: Apartment fire cause is undetermined

Keri Martin woke up and got out of her apartment just in time Tuesday morning. She was one of 17 tenants who got out of the building safely, before fire raced through the 200-foot long, 14-unit apartment complex in North Springfield.

http://www.fox44now.com/story/15508488/springfield-apartment-fire-cause-is-undetermined

Springfield Apartment Fire Cause is Undetermined
Posted: Sep 20, 2011 5:01 PM EDT Updated: Sep 20, 2011 5:01 PM EDT
Steve Glazier

North Springfield, Vermont - Keri Martin woke up and got out of her apartment just in time Tuesday morning. She was one of 17 tenants who got out of the building safely, before fire raced through the 200-foot long, 14-unit apartment complex.

Captain Dan Baldwin with the Springfield Fire Department was called to the scene at 2 a.m. Tuesday, "Heavy smoke, heavy fire basically showing from all three sides."

"As soon as it got into the first two or three apartments, it just raced right down through and into the other apartments," recalls Baldwin.

The fire spread so quickly and got so hot that even cars, parked about 20 feet away from the building, had melted front-ends.

Fire officials can't pinpoint a cause.

"It's been undetermined at this point," says Baldwin.

The building was an motel that was transitioned into efficiency apartments. Fire fighters were able to stop the fire from reaching the office building, by cutting a 'trench cut vent' ahead of the fire. That allowed the fire to stop spreading and helped firefighters contain it.

Bruce Pollock with the Vermont and New Hampshire American Red Cross was also helping.

"We've provided them with food, money for food, money for clothing, and we've got them into the Vermont Economic Services system so that they can find some housing," says Pollock.

It was the second straight day the American Red Cross offered help to fire victims, while the organization is still dealing with flooding from Tropical Storm Irene.

"We couldn't do it without the support and the response of the volunteers that are within the Red Cross. They make it happen," explains Pollock. He adds, "[The Springfield families were] distraught. They've lost everything. They got out with whatever they were wearing and whatever they had on their feet. Most of them, what they had was all they had, and it's all gone."