Wrapped in a blanket to protect herself from the cold wind, Cherikee Ray held a cigarette as she watched her home of nearly three years burn.
“I don’t smoke, but I smoke now,” she said. Streaks of dark eye makeup from tears had dried to her cheeks.
The fire started at about 4:15 p.m. Sunday in Ray’s apartment, Unit 1213. It spread through Building 12 at Carriage Hill Apartments, 115 Carriage Hill Dr., and destroyed the roof and third floor.
The fire originated from the electrical wiring in a wall of the apartment, Ohio Fire Marshal Spokesperson Kelly Stincer said.
Smoke damage from the fire made the building uninhabitable, displacing everyone who lived in the building’s 30 apartment units. The fire caused $1.2 million in damage to Building 12 and $1 million in damage to the building’s contents, according to an Athens Fire Department report. One person was treated for smoke inhalation, said Stephanie Tresso, a spokeswoman for Wallick Communities, the company that owns the apartment complex.
The Athens Fire Department and four assisting fire departments worked for hours to douse the flames. Smoke settled in a haze around the complex.
Residents from Building 12 and Building 13, which was evacuated as a precaution, stood outside wrapped in blankets and holding pets. They called friends and family members.
Ray said her brother was home when the fire started. The flames spread too quickly for him to rescue her cat, Veve. They hoped she escaped through an open window.
Another resident’s pet, a dog named Scotty, lay safely in a crate nearby. Ray said she had warned the dog’s owner to rescue him.
“At least we could save somebody’s baby,” she said.
Ray still felt optimistic about her circumstances.
“When you’re at rock bottom, you can only go up,” Ray said. “Somebody’s worse off than I am.”
Another apartment resident, Arwa Ayiq, stood near her three daughters with tears in her eyes. Her husband saw smoke while she was in the shower.
“Everything is gone,” she said. “I didn’t take anything. Everything is in there.”
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson arrived at about 6 p.m. and watched the fire quietly. He said he understood what the residents were going through — in 1982, the apartment next to his caught fire, killing his 3-year-old neighbor and damaging his own apartment. He said it “still hurts,” adding that he feels for the families displaced by the Carriage Hill fire.
“Being out in the frigid cold and having to find a new place to live with just the clothes on your back … It’s hard,” he said.
The fire was under control by 8:30 p.m., but the Athens Fire Department remained well into the night to extinguish flare-ups.
The American Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio distributed hotel vouchers to residents displaced by the fire. Ohio University kept Baker University Center open late to provide a “warming center.”
OU Spokesperson Dan Pittman said at least nine students, one faculty member and one staff member were affected by the fire. The university provided $100 Wal-Mart gift cards, temporary housing and meal plans to them.
Donations of clothing, toiletries and baby supplies filled tables on the fifth floor of Baker Center on Monday. The Red Cross worked nearby to find housing for displaced residents.
“The community has been a huge support with their donations,” Tim Callahan, a disaster program manager for the Red Cross, said. “It’s a huge help.”
People can drop off donations at Diles Hearing Center at 275 W. Union St. and Class A Sounds at 447 E. State St. Displaced residents can pick up donated items at the Athens Community Center at 701 E. State St.
