A fire at an apartment complex near 108th and Maple left 23 people without a home Tuesday night.
The flames took out all 12 units in the building, and a portion of the roof collapsed while firefighters were fighting the flames.
“To me it looked about 20 feet tall the size of the flames, it was horrible, when I started seeing it, I just started crying,” said Anna DeLeon, who lost her apartment in the Fire.
The fire ripped through several families homes, and those inside had to quickly grab what they could.
“One of the things that I left with last night was a picture of my mother, I lost her last year. I left with her picture and just some clothes that I can wear today, laptop, and that's what I left with,” said DeLeon.
“Wallet, keys, purse, and the kids,” said Patrick Jensen, who lives right next to where the fire started and woke up to the flames next to his patio.
“Just devastated, we lost everything we own, we didn't have renters insurance. We are all alive and that's all that counts,” he said.
Firefighters said the fire started from a charcoal grill on a wooden deck.
“Just anger that it had to happen over something that shouldn't have happened, it’s just something that could have been prevented,” said Jensen.
He said they had to leave their two cats, Midnight and Shadow behind, but he thanks one firefighter for going in and getting them out.
“He was willing to risk his life for two cats, and took his time to get them out and brought them one by one to us, and it was very sobering and just breathtaking that someone would do that for an animal.”
Jensen said today they are trying to figure out what can be saved, “we just have to start working, and everything you know, we are down to this, least I saved a Five Finger Death Punch shirt.”
Jensen's family and the rest of the families made it out with no injuries.
“We’ll get through it, everybody will, if we have love, and strength, and hope,” said Jensen.
Jensen is a part of the Midwest Stangs Car Club, and they have started a Go Fund Me to help him and his family through this tough time.
