North Charleston apartment complex fire displaces 55 people

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - North Charleston firefighters are working to determine the cause of a fire at an apartment complex off Highway 78 that forced more than four dozen people out of their homes.

Firefighters responded to a 911 call at 6:12 p.m. about an apartment on fire at the Atlantic Palms Apartments, Deputy Fire Chief Stephanie Julazadeh said.

The first firefighters on the scene found a third-story apartment with heavy fire and smoke coming out of the windows and a fire extending into the attic of the building, she said. A second alarm was called in.

Firefighters say 24 units were affected by the fire and the building’s electrical system was secured by Dominion Energy. There was evidence of fire and heat damage to the electrical system in the attic space.

The Red Cross says it is now helping the people who have been displaced. The agency initially reported 12 units had been damaged earlier in the evening, but Red Cross spokesman Ben Williamson said they learned another 12 units also suffered some amount of damage from the fire.

Owen Mena said he was visiting his friend who lives in the building right across from where the fire happened. He said he pulled into the complex and smelled the smoke. He also saw people being evacuated.

“I was like oh my god, someone must have been hurt. I thought an explosion happened from the way people talked about it,” Mena said.

Fire investigators were set to enter the building to determine what started the fire as soon as any remaining hot spots were taken care of.

“Anytime you have a fire in the roofline, you’re always concerned about the safety of the roof structure,” she said. Firefighters were planning to initially use a bucket truck to examine the structure to make sure it is safe enough for investigators to go in to begin their investigation.

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