Residents crawl down balcony as apartment building burns in NW Harris Co.

HARRIS COUNTY, TX (KTRK) -- A fast-moving fire at an apartment complex in north Harris County had some residents crawling down a balcony to safety.

Firefighters from multiple departments responded to the City Station Apartments at 905 Cypress Station Drive around 6:30pm Wednesday.

Flames shot through the roof and quickly overtook the building. In the moments after the fire started, there was a chaotic scene.

"I feel bad for those people. Everybody was trying to get out. People were asking if they could get their stuff. It was horrible," described Kendrick Haywood, who watched the response from a neighboring building.

Eight of the 10 units in the building that burned were heavily damaged. Residents of the unit where it started reportedly had to crawl down a second-floor balcony to escape.

"It appears, without further investigation, it started on the second floor, and then it got into the attic, instead it runs horizontally through the attic space," explained Chief Fred Windisch, with the Ponderosa Fire Department.

No one was injured. The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office will determine what caused the fire.