Residents displaced after massive fire at Pompano Beach apartment building
FORT LAUDERDALE - A massive fire erupted in a Pompano Beach apartment building overnight.
Residents of the Royal Atlantic Apartments, at 110 NW 7th Avenue, said they woke to fire alarms blaring around 2 a.m. and heard people screaming.
Arriving firefighters were met with flames shooting through the roof and thick smoke coming from one the units.
Residents said it was terrifying as they made their way to safety.
"It was hectic and scary. It was just black smoke, we couldn't barely see anything. We had to use our phone lights to run down the stairs and other people's flashlights to run down the stairs. It was terrible, a few of us have asthma, it was terrifying, the worst experience ever" said Phylicia Eubanks.
Firefighters were able to quickly contain the blaze. However, flames burned their way through a dozen of the building's 22 units, multiple units were left with smoke damage.
Michelle Edmund said her home is a total loss.
"I was like 'Oh my God, it smells like a fire'. I don't know where it's coming from but he's (next-door neighbor) yelling so it must be coming from his way. I have to go outside the door and by the time I look, it's coming from the side by the steps, near his door. So immediately I go get my daughter, everybody else was coming out, the police was knocking on everybody's doors, come out, come out, we had to hurry up and get out. I didn't really grab too much," she said.
No injuries were reported but a cat died. The Red Cross is helping 55 people, including children, that have been displaced.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.