Fire at Osuna complex destroys 4 apartments
No injuries reported; Red Cross to help 13 residents find housing
Firefighters extinguished a fire at an apartment complex on Osuna, near San Mateo NE, Friday afternoon.
AFD Spokesman Tom Ruiz said there were no injuries reported and Red Cross was called in to assist displaced residents.
He said crews responded to the Osuna Apartments around noon where smoke and flames could be seen coming from several apartments.
Ruiz said there were eight apartments involved, with four being a “total loss.”
“The rest of the apartments did suffer some smoke and water damage,” he said.
Ruiz said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Large rushes of water flowed down either side of Osuna as several fire trucks and emergency vehicles crowded the Osuna Apartments parking lot.
A rooftop of the affected apartments was charred black
and ventilation pipes could be seen sticking up at awkward angles from the structure.
Residents stood on the north side of Osuna NE speaking with the Red Cross as the organization got a tally of displaced residents and worked to help those on the list.
Charles Johnson was among those residents.
Johnson waited on the sidewalk to find out if he could go home or if his apartment was one of those claimed by the fire.
Johnson said he went to the grocery store and came back to find the complex besieged by emergency vehicles.
A Red Cross spokesman said they had counted 13 displaced residents but that number may go up.
Red Cross will help those residents by setting them up with a place to stay for the night, maybe a couple nights, depending on the damage.
From there, a Red Cross caseworker would take over and help them find a place to go on a more permanent basis.
“Either we help, or we have community partners that help,” the spokesman said.