‘We lost everything’: Several families homeless after huge south Charlotte townhouse fire

CHARLOTTE — A massive two-alarm townhome fire in south Charlotte was caused by a “juvenile playing with fire,” according to firefighters.

The blaze started around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Stoney Point Apartments on Stoney Point Lane, which is off Sharon Road West.

New: officials say a young person “playing with fire” caused all this damage at the Stoney Point Apartments in south Charlotte. 30 people are displaced including 11 children. Damage totals more than $275k. The Red Cross is helping families find a place to stay. @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/qEvYIYEbY2
— Anthony Kustura (@AnthonyWSOC9) February 17, 2021

More than 40 firefighters responded within five minutes of the call and saw heavy fire and smoke coming from the building.

When Channel 9 crews arrived at the complex, they could see flames shooting from the building and firefighters using their ladders and hoses to get it under control.

Several local agencies were seen responding to the scene, including Charlotte Fire, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, MEDIC and the Red Cross.

In all, officials said seven townhomes were damaged, but no injuries were reported. Authorities said 19 adults and 11 children were displaced.

The families that were impacted by the fire had to wait on a CATS bus to stay warm because of the frigid temperatures Wednesday morning.

A mother and daughter who spoke to Channel 9 said they were sleeping when the fire started.

“I was sleeping so around 12:30 a.m., my mom came in the room knocking that our house was on fire so basically everyone just got out of the building,” Keily Garcia said.

#BREAKING: Charlotte firefighters are battling a huge 2-alarm fire at an apartment complex on Stoney Point Ln in south Charlotte. pic.twitter.com/G7EOQHBpGP
— WSOCTV (@wsoctv) February 17, 2021

Garcia said it is devastating to see a scene like this and now they don’t know where they will go.

“It is really heartbreaking because we try to get an apartment last year and it hasn’t even been a year and we lost everything,” resident Keily Garcia said. “So, it’s really hard for us because we didn’t even have a year living there and we lost everything.”

Charlotte Fire said the fire was caused by a “juvenile playing with fire,” and the damage was estimated to be around $276,000.

Crews from the Red Cross said they are working to help families find a place to stay. Officials said they offered temporary assistance to six families. The families can use the emergency funds for lodging, food, clothing and other essential items.