HOT SPRINGS -- At least 45 people were left homeless and a Garland County sheriff's office sergeant was injured when a fire destroyed a multistory apartment building at Village Square Apartments on Lakeland Drive in Hot Springs early Wednesday.
"I woke up around 4:20 a.m. and smelled smoke, and my smoke detector was beeping, and I heard voices outside. I put on some clothes and went outside and looked up and the whole roof was on fire," said Sandra Howerton, who lived in Apartment C14.
Howerton said she ran back into the apartment and grabbed her pet ferret, its food and her purse, then fled.
Sheriff's office Cpl. Greg Keller said Sgt. Roy Williams, who lived in one of the apartments that burned, was taken to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs for treatment of injuries he suffered while helping residents evacuate the building.
Williams suffered first- and second-degree burns on the top of his head, arm and hand when a portion of the burning ceiling fell on him.
Doug Davey, deputy chief of the Lake Hamilton Fire Department, said the cause of the fire was under investigation.
State Desk on 07/18/2014