More than a dozen South Austin apartments damaged after fire

AUSTIN, Texas - Firefighters responded to a 3-alarm apartment fire in South Austin.

AFD says the fire broke out around 3:20 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1 at Cannon South apartments on William Cannon near Congress Ave. 

The fire originated on a corner balcony and extended to two connected buildings, AFD says. The fire was put under control and was being held to two buildings, 1 and 6.

Residents like Lou Mitchener could only stand by, watch and wonder where they would now go. They did get a little help from the Red Cross.

"They gave me a bag, man, with a voucher code on it to help me get some clothes and help me get some food. But where are you sleeping tonight? I don't know. I don't know. My truck, maybe. I don’t know, that's a question I don't know," said Mitchner.

"It moved so fast. A lot of the neighbors were not even believing the severity of it," said Rick Olivares.

Before fire crews arrived, residents like Rick Olivares knocked on doors. They alerted neighbors to the danger.

"Honestly, all the neighbors, like building seven. We all got together, and we started knocking on everybody's doors. Even on the people's side where there was no fire. We just knew that it was going to spread somehow," said Olivares.

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Firefighters say one resident was evaluated by Austin-Travis County EMS for smoke inhalation, but they refused transportation.

No other injuries have been reported.

AFD says the smoke alarm did not go off in the first building that caught fire. They say it will be up to investigators and code enforcement to determine if the apartment complex will face fines as a result.

"There were no reports of any going off when the first units, the police officers or fire units arrived, they may have been in other ones that hadn't been affected by the smoke or fire yet, and they hadn't been triggered. But my initial reports right now is that there were no active alarms going off," said AFD Assistant Chief Andre de la Reza.

More than a dozen apartments were damaged by the fire and the water used to fight the flames. Lou Mitchener says the fire started in the unit below his apartment.

"Nobody heard anything. I smelled smoke, saw flames when I woke up at three in the morning to get out of there," said Mitchner.

FOX 7 recorded the recovery of a small family pet that survived. In the video, the animal can be seen moving by a stairway, along an upper landing, as a firefighter came to get him. The pet was later reunited with his owners. It was a small, but important victory for residents who lost so much.

"As long as you have your pet. I mean, that's like your children. So, I would imagine that's the most important thing. And, for the most part, I was able to see everybody get their pets and into cages," said Olivares. 

At last check, there was not an official ruling on a cause of the fire. FOX 7 was told that investigators are considering the possibility that the fire started on a porch by the improper disposal of smoking material.