TULSA- The entire Case Linda Apartments complex in South Tulsa is displaced after a fire broke out Sunday morning.
Fire officials believe a main electrical wire that runs throughout the complex could be to blame
Firefighters were able to contain the fire to a storage room and laundry area just after 10 a.m. Heat and heavy smoke filled two apartment and now those residents say they’re left with nothing.
Residents say they’re left with nothing.
“That's all I could do is just pray,” said resident Centoria Lee.
Lee and her 9-month-old were awake when she heard loud popping outside her door. It wasn’t long before her home filled with smoke
“My first thought is wrap the baby and get out. When I opened the door, all you could see was the smoke go out," she said. "And when I made it downstairs, the smoke was coming from the laundry room.”
Firefighters quickly arrived and doused the fire within minutes, but for Lee the damage had already been done.
“I lost everything, I don't have anything and it's kinda hard,” said Lee.
Investigators determined the fire started with a central electrical line that runs through each building. With crews unable to turn it back on, they estimate 100 people are out of their homes. The Red Cross has been helping in full force ever since.
“Everybody is running around trying to figure out what they're going to do,” said resident Dee Stell.
Stell’s apartment survived, but she can’t stay.
“I'm going to go to my brother's and hopefully tomorrow we can stay in our own home,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lee says she’ll try to put her family’s life back together.
“When you lose everything, you lose your life,” Lee said. “I just gotta pray to God and hope that everything gets better for me.”
Every resident was offered a place to stay inside a shelter Sunday night thanks to the Salvation Army.
Crews are working to restore power and hope to have the complex back up and running within the next few days.
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