A fire swept through a Little Rock apartment building Thursday morning, destroying it, displacing numerous residents and sending a up a large plume of black smoke that was visible for miles.
No injuries were reported in the fire at the Out-In-The Woods Apartments near Baptist Health Medical Center at 9201 Kanis Road in Little Rock. About half of Little Rock's fire companies responded to the scene.
It could have been much worse, Little Rock Fire Department Capt. Randy Hickmon said, if the timing of the fire were different.
"If this would have been later at night or earlier this morning when people were still at home, we might be talking about something different," he said. "But most people had left for work and were up and around. They all got out."
Firefighters had much of the blaze knocked down by 11 a.m., though Kanis Road remained closed between John Barrow Road and Baptist Hospital. Officials said it would likely remain closed most of the day.
One large building along Kanis Road was destroyed at the complex and a second building suffered at least some damage, Hickmon said. About 30 units are believed to have been affected, though Hickmon said that number could change as officials get a better idea of how bad the damage is to the second building.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Hickmon said the fire started around 9:40 a.m. and quickly spread to the attic, burning through the roof and collapsing it into the building.
There are reports of pets that may have been in the building.
“We hope they got out,” Hickmon said.
Lots of residents had left hurriedly, some missing clothes or shoes, and authorities were working to get them warm.
Smoke at one point was visible from downtown Little Rock.