East Charlotte apartment complex cited after 2-alarm fire displaces 27

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Firefighters were busy fighting a 2-alarm fire at an east Charlotte apartment complex early Thursday morning.

Fire crews were called to the Summit Ridge Apartments around 6:45 a.m. on Farm Pond Lane, and reported heavy smoke and flames coming from the roof.

[ [IMAGES: East Charlotte apartment complex cited after 2-alarm fire displaces 27] ]

Officials said it took more than 50 firefighters about a half hour to get the fire under control and said that 12 units were damaged.

Firefighters were still putting out hot spots over an hour later.

Channel 9 has learned that the apartment complex will receive several citations because it did not have working fire or carbon monoxide detectors.

A woman who lives at the apartments told Eyewitness News that she never heard fire alarms go off, but said the fire started in her storage unit, which is on the back patio.

The fire quickly spread to the other units and to the roof.

Officials said that 27 people were displaced, including several children.

Channel 9 saw firefighters bring out diapers and shoes for many of those families who were forced to quickly escape the flames

Ashley Flees first saw the fire, and told Eyewitness News that she grabbed a stove pot that was soaking with soapy water from the kitchen to try to put of the flames.

When that didn't work, she ran up three flights of stairs to grab a fire extinguisher.

“By the time I went up to get the extinguisher it just went all back in flames again, and it sent the whole thing on fire,” she said.

Flees said that someone had tampered with the fire extinguisher on the first floor, and that's why it wasn't available.

Fire officials said the complex was also cited for not inspecting those fire extinguishers annually.

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