Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 3, 1995 TAG: 9501030114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"They lost everything," said Barbara Smith, director of Roanoke's Refugee and Immigration Service.
Fire Chief Garry Basham said it's "very probable" that the fire was started by an 11-year-old girl who apparently was playing with matches.
The fire at the 102-unit apartment complex at 4839 Rutgers Road N.W. near Crossroads Mall started around noon and spread quickly.
''Wind just whipped through the fire. That hampered our efforts ... That did give us a little bit of a problem. Even at that, it didn't take us but 45 minutes to contain it,'' Basham said. He said the fire caused about $500,000 damage.
The 11-year-old girl, whose name was not released, was listed in serious condition at Community Hospital. She suffered burns to her chest and inhaled a large amount of smoke.
Six other residents were taken by ambulance to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, but a nursing supervisor said all were treated and released Monday night. One of those treated was an elderly woman who had been in the apartment with the child who apparently started the fire, Basham said.
Fifteen others were treated at the scene, he said.
Although only a handful of the complex's apartments were damaged, all the residents were forced to find shelter elsewhere Monday night after the electricity was turned off for safety reasons. The Red Cross was offering assistance to the families.
Senad Vugdalic, his wife Enisa, and their two daughters, Anesa and Alisa, moved from Bosnia to Roanoke after losing their home and belongings in the ongoing war in their native country. The Muslim family was forced from their village after the Serbs captured it, Smith said. Senad Vugdalic was captured and put in a prison camp for 18 months, where he was tortured and beaten.
After he was released, they moved to Roanoke to begin anew. Both parents had jobs and the family was doing well, Smith said - until Monday's fire ravaged their apartment.
Bobby Harvey went to Valley View Village on Monday to apply for a new apartment and went home a hero - at least in the eyes of one mother.
Harvey, 30, had been at the apartment complex only a short time when he heard screams.
He went to the side of the building closest to Hershberger Road and saw a woman with her two small children on the second floor. He caught the children as they were dropped from a window, then helped the mother and another woman to safety.
A few minutes later, as he watched firefighters douse the blaze, Harvey downplayed his actions.
"It's just kind of an instinct," he said.
Bill Jennings was making lunch when he heard a strange popping noise outside his third-floor apartment.
He opened the door and saw flames jetting out of the apartment building next door. Trying not to panic, Jennings shut the door and told his 8-year-old daughter, Samantha, to put on her boots and coat.
"I didn't tell her what was going on because I didn't want to upset her," he said.
Jennings swept Samantha into his arms, shielding her under his jacket, and headed outside and down three flights of stairs to safety.
Other residents were screaming for help, and some jumped from windows to escape the flames. The heat was so intense that window panes were shattering all around him.
Bill and Samantha Jennings reached the building's parking lot injury-free, but their apartment was gutted.
"It's demolished," he said, "but I'm just thankful we got out of there before we got burned up.
"An hour after the fire started, Samantha Jennings bravely stood between her dad and mom - who was at work when the fire broke out - and peered at the soot-covered building. She tried not to cry.
Burned in the fire were her Christmas toys - including roller blades, a Creepy Crawler maker and a Dream Phone - but she wasn't worried about those, at least not yet.
She only wanted to know if the money she had been saving for more than a year was safe.
Before going to bed Sunday night, Samantha had counted what she planned to spend next week, on her birthday. She had saved $104.25 from her weekly $8 allowance.
Bill Jennings, a shipping supervisor with Grand Piano & Furniture Co., tried to console his daughter, but he had his own problems. The family has no insurance, and although they can stay at his mother's Northwest Roanoke house for a while, he has no idea where they will go after that.
"Now I know what it feels like to be homeless," he said.
Staff writer Matt Chittum contributed information to this story.
(A different version ran in the State edition).
by CNB