Christmas Fire damages Apartments near Lakeline Mall
AUSTIN, Texas - This is video of the Christmas morning fire at the Hendrix apartment complex near the intersection of Hwy 183 and Hymeadow Dr. Flames erupted from the second floor, engulfing parts of the third.
Earlier there was a near miss for firefighters. It appeared as if some ceiling material from a balcony collapsed. Joe Montalbano recorded the video.
"I don’t think it has hit me yet, give me a day. It’s not real yet,” said Montalbano.
He lost everything in his apartment. He saved his girlfriend, 2 dogs - and several neighbors after knocking on doors.
"The next building over there were some people, I got them out, then I went to the other side of the building, and I knocked on some doors, only one person came to the door, and he was half a sleep, he said what’s up, I said the building is on fire, get out," said Montalbano.
One of the neighbors saved by a knock at the door was Edward Santiago. He only had time to escape with his cat, Cinnamon, and some personal papers.
"And when I was getting out that’s when the top exploded, and I was OK, I’m definitely getting out,” said Santiago.
Fire fighters from Austin and Jollyville spent most the morning knocking down the flames. Flames flared up at least three times. Officials say the fire damaged 12 of 24 units in building 9. There are no reports of any injuries. A search located at least one cat. It was seen in a crate held by a Williamson Co. Deputy. The cat was trapped in the fire but found alive.
The fire was recorded by several residents in the apartment complex and by people who live the nearby copper creek neighborhood. Video was taken by Zakary Bedford after he returned home when he spotted the smoke several miles away. Residents who were burned out- are being relocated to other apartment units managed by the ownership group.
This is the second time a major fire has swept through this apartment complex. It happened 5 years ago and it was much larger.
The 2012 fire destroyed 60 units. It was also in the back corner of the complex. Some residents drove their vehicles through security fencing in order to escape.
"That was of course a very bad fire, we had a 50 mph wind that night to contend with, that’s why we lost the buildings that we did, the same thing could have happened today, if we had the wind conditions that we had 5 years ago,” said Jollyville Fire Chief John Kiracofe.
A copy of the video that was recorded by Joe Montalbano was given to investigators. They are studying the first few minutes - focusing in on where a dark mark can be seen between the first and second floors. It’s believed the fire is inside the wall, blistering of exterior paint, indicates that's what's happening. The video is expected to help locate the point of origin.