Apartment blaze displaces dozen tenants

Fire ripped through a building in The Islands apartment complex on James Island Saturday afternoon, damaging four units and displacing about a dozen residents, fire officials said.

The 4:50 p.m. blaze crept into the attic of the eight-unit building on Aruba Circle and chewed through the roof, gutting the second floor of the unit where it started, James Island Fire Battalion Chief Thomas B. Glick II said.

The fast-moving blaze also damaged three neighboring apartments, but everyone escaped without injury, he said.

Investigators still are trying to determine the cause of the blaze, which charred timbers and left melted pieces of vinyl siding draped like wet noodles over air conditioning units.

Firefighters from Charleston, James Island and Johns Island rushed to the scene, with the first crews arriving within two minutes of the first emergency call. But neighbors said the fire seemed to go from a small flame to a

roaring blaze in an instant.

"I was getting ready to barbecue when my mom ran over and said 'Call 911,' " neighbor Robert Strojny said. "It was just a little flame outside at first. It was scary how fast that thing went up. Within a minute, the whole street was black from the smoke."

Harold Brown, who lives two doors down from where the fire started, woke his pregnant daughter and hustled her outside. Debbra Huber, who lives next to Brown, started grabbing her prized belongings, fearful the blaze would reach her home.

"I just freaked out," she said. "My car is just full of baby pictures right now."

Brown's and Huber's apartments were spared, but Huber said her thumb was cut when a neighboring window exploded during the fire, spraying glass shards. Both families were left shaken.

"I won't be sleeping tonight," Brown said.

Julie Lambert was among those displaced by the fire. Lambert was working, waiting tables at Poogan's Porch in Charleston, when her baby-sitter called with the news. Her first thoughts were for the safety of her two children, ages 3 and 5.

"They are OK," she said. "But I was just frantic."

The blaze spared their belongings, but it left their apartment uninhabitable, Lambert said. "It stinks in there," she said. "It's hard to breathe."

Her family was headed for a motel for the night while the apartment managers looked for a new unit for them. Glick said the managers pledged to find shelter for the other tenants as well.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.