Neighbors warning each other during apartment fire may have saved lives in NW Harris County

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Families at a northwest Harris County apartment complex started knocking on doors to wake up their neighbors after an overnight fire.

The fire started just before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday on Ella Boulevard near Greenwell.

One resident said a woman woke him up, and he began knocking on doors to wake up other neighbors as well.

"I just tried to get everyone to come down and come out, then I called 911," said neighbor Robert Hudson. "Flames started coming out the window by the time the fire department got here. There was a lot of explosions and things going on, so by the time they got here, it was pretty much engulfed in fire upstairs."

Several units were destroyed in the fire.

The American Red Cross is working to help those families now.