1 person seriously hurt after fire at south Charlotte apartment; 14 families displaced

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It took dozens of firefighters to put out a two-alarm fire at an apartment in south Charlotte that left one person seriously hurt Saturday afternoon.

Crews responded to the scene at the Beacon Hill Apartments on South Boulevard near Tyvola Road at around 2 p.m. A lot of smoke could be seen coming from the roof.

MEDIC confirmed one person was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Officials said the resident suffered third-degree burns to his upper body.

“He was pretty bad. It was pretty bad,” resident Andrew Walker said. “Yeah, I’m the one who called 911.”

A firefighter was also singed by an ember but was evaluated by MEDIC and returned to fight the blaze.

It took more than 50 firefighters to get the fire under control in an hour.

Authorities said seven to eight units have heavy fire damage, and another six units have heavy smoke and water damage. A total of 14 apartments are not liveable.

“I just came outside once I seen that my closet smelled like smoke, and my son’s room smelled like smoke, and I got my kid out the house. It was pretty close to you. How scary is that? It’s scary enough because I ain’t ready to die yet,” said Kendra Graham, who lives next door to the building that caught fire.

Many neighbors were impressed by the fire department’s response.

“They saved a family and they did pretty good with the fire and everything,” Walker said.

Fire officials have determined the fire to be accidental. They said it started on the third-floor exterior deck.

According to officials, 14 families with 24 adults and three children have been displaced. The Red Cross is assisting those families.

Firefighters also told Channel 9 that they rescued several pets, but some did not survive.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

‘It was scary’: Early morning fire guts several apartments in east Charlotte

Cox Media Group