Several families rebuilding after losing everything in apartment fire
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Seven families must start over after their possessions were either damaged or destroyed in a 3-alarm fire at an apartment complex in west Houston Saturday afternoon.
The blaze broke out around 4 p.m. at the Westhollow Place Apartments on 13702 Richmond Avenue at Panagard between Highway 6 and Eldridge.
Flames shot through the roof of the 2-story apartment building and at the time, no one really knew what was happening.
A 10-year-old girl moving into the complex with her family was among the first people to realize there was a fire.
"'It was very nerve-wracking because I was scared that one of the cars was going to blow up and it was gonna reach our house and all our stuff would be gone," Isabella Mencilla said.
"I was like somebody's cooking out and Isabella said, 'no there's a fire,' and she pointed," Mencilla's mother Christine Youmans said.
A neighbor also saw the smoke and ran to make sure everyone was out.
The fire burned through the roof of the nine unit building. Two of the apartments were vacant. The rest were occupied.
Authorities say it appears the fire started on the second floor, but the exact cause is still under investigation.
No one was hurt.
Raw video from the scene of the apartment fire
