Apartment Fire Damages Three Units

Two families are looking for new homes after a fire ripped through a Prichard apartment complex.

The fiire happened around 7 p.m. Tuesday at Canaan Apartments on Clarke Avenue.

The unit where the fire started was completely destroyed, while two other units suffered heavy smoke and water damage.

The owner of the complex, Diane LaBorde, says the fire started when one of the residents rushed out the door trying to find her father who has Alzheimer's. When she left her apartment, she left a skillet on the stove.

"She was just trying to find him," said Diane LaBorde. "She said she did find him, but by the time she got back she found a burned apartment."

A woman who lived in the neighboring unit was asleep with her two year old son. According to witnesses, a neighbor who saw the smoke kicked in her back door to wake her up.

"He just kicked in to let them know their house was on fire, and they started getting their clothes," said Armando Powe.

Everyone escaped the fire without being hurt.

Five people, including three children, lived in two of the units, according to LaBorde. No one lived in the third unit.