New Year’s Day apartment fire damages eight units in Donelson
After hours of working to put out the flames in four units, the fire sparked up again, spreading to four more units.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - An apartment building in Donelson caught fire overnight. While Nashville firefighters said no one was hurt, eight units were affected.
People who live in the affected units said they couldn’t believe what was happening until they saw smoke and flames.
One woman, who said she was inside the building on Elm Hill Pike, shared here experience.
“It’s a shock, it’s like…wow,” said Jahmella Huddleston, one of the residents affected by the fire.
Huddleston and her boyfriend rang in the new year at midnight and went to bed. Less than an hour later, they woke up in panic.
“We were lying in bed and my boyfriend was right on the verge of falling asleep,” Huddleston said.
The next moment, she said they heard sirens.
Huddleston at first believed what they were hearing was a false alarm.
“I said, ‘Oh, somebody is just messing with the fire alarm because that’s what they did the last time,’” Huddleston said.
But then the couple saw flames coming out of an apartment, smelled smoke and watched their neighbor run over yelling for them to get out.
“When I first stepped out, I didn’t see anything,” Huddleston said. “It wasn’t until we got out and turned around to look at the building. We saw smoke coming out the top and we didn’t see flames until that window got busted out because the flame was so hot.”
Around 1 a.m., crews with the Nashville Fire Department arrived at the Highland on Briley Apartments. After hours of working to put out the flames in four units, the fire sparked up again, spreading to four more units.
“Everything on the left side was ruined,” Huddleston said. “Everything is just burnt to smithereens.”
Huddleston and her boyfriend said they were lucky their unit only had smoke damage.
“I never thought, never thought this was actually going to be happening to me, in real life like that’s crazy, a crazy way to start the new year on New Year’s Day, it’s wild,” Huddleston said.
Firefighters said the eight units affected by the fire, smoke and water are heavily damaged. Emergency crews said the American Red Cross had stepped in to help everyone who had been displaced.
Several people said they’re just thankful no one lost their lives.
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