ATLANTA — After more than 18 hours, fire crews finally left the scene of a massive fire at a Buckhead apartment complex.
The fire broke out at the Avana on Main across from the Lindbergh MARTA station just before 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The fire, which started on the upper floors, quickly tore through the building, destroying or damaging dozens of units.
Everyone, including pets, made it out safely, but now, nearly 200 people are displaced.
Channel 2′s Tom Regan was at the complex, where some neighbors said they lost everything.
“It was really hard on me,” Jasmine Hunter said. “I was crying, my heart was hurting.”
Hunter said she and her mom weren’t at home when the fire broke out, but her dad was. They called him repeatedly to tell him to get out.
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“My dad was sleeping. We were trying to wake him up,” Hunter said. “My mom was panicking. ‘Oh my God! We need to wake your dad up!‘”
She said he finally got up and out of the building just in time.
Hunter said that now, her family is staying in a hotel for a few days on a voucher given to them by the Red Cross.
The Red Cross is providing support for 162 people with money to buy essentials and help find temporary hotel rooms.
Residents said apartment management also plans to help with hotel costs until residents can be moved into another building.
Seth Jones, who is staying with his girlfriend, said he will file an insurance claim to cover everything he lost in the fire.
“Everything is gone, like, straight up,” Jones said. “It’s kind of surreal. I mean, I had all of my belongings in there, so it’s just like a waiting game.”
Some residents suspect the fire started in the H-VAC system, which is on the roof.
After the fire, victims gathered at nearby Passion City Church along with an army of more than 40 American Red Cross volunteers.
"This was the first place that we knew people were gathering," a resident said. "It wouldn't be the easiest to find a place to stay if there wasn't someone who was like, looking out for us."
Fire investigators are still working to determine the cause of the blaze.
Cox Media Group
