3 injured, 40 displaced after North Highlands apartment fire
More than 40 people were displaced after an apartment complex caught fire Tuesday night in the North Highlands area of Sacramento County, officials said.
Fire crews were dispatched around 11:21 p.m. Tuesday to a property on A Street and Georgia Drive. Three people were taken to the hospital with injuries, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said.
All 16 units in one building were damaged with nine having major damage. A second building was evacuated because power lines burned and dropped, leaving the units without power until the Sacramento Municipal Utility District can restore it, Sac Metro Fire said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
KCRA 3 spoke with one of the 40 residents who was displaced. He said he heard people yelling, 'Fire!' just as he was going to bed.
“I jumped up and I turned around and I said, you know, 'everybody get out.' I ran towards the banister, looked over and my landlord was putting out a fire,” Nathaniel Figueroa said. “As I ran down to help him put out the fire, it just got worse from there.”
He said he tried pulling things that were burning out of the first-floor apartment, like the couch, but the flames moved too fast.
“This building caught fire like the back of a box of matches. It was like somebody poured gasoline in there. In a matter of minutes, it was gone,” he said. "A lot of people were affected by this. A lot of people."
While the Red Cross and property owner are helping those who are displaced right now, he said he doesn't know what a long-term solution will look like for his family.
"Honestly, I've lost everything. Everything. I've been on my own since I was 12. So now, everything I got to work for all over again,” Figueroa said. “We have no clothes. We have nothing. We have no money. We got lucky to have a car. I mean, and we got lucky to save our lives."
He said he is hopeful that everyone who has been displaced by the fire will get the help they need.
See our live traffic map for updates.
Click the video player above to watch other headlines from KCRA News 3
This story was curated by Hearst's KCRA Alert Desk.
Do you have photos or videos of this or another incident? Upload them to KCRA.com/upload, and be sure to include your name and additional details so we can give you credit online and on TV.
If this story happened near you or someone you know, share this article with friends in your area using the KCRA mobile app so they know what is happening near them. The KCRA app is available for free in Apple’s App Store and on Google Play.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Subscribe to our morning newsletter