A fire at Majestic Oaks Apartments complex Tuesday morning left one family displaced.
Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to the complex, located off of Southwest 20th Avenue, at about 10:30 a.m., Lt. Russell Valentine said.
When fire crews arrived, visible flames were coming out of the front door of building J. It took only a few minutes to extinguish the flames, Valentine said.
“We had a pretty quick knock down,” he said.
The apartment was deemed unlivable, though no one was injured in the fire. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause.
Now, yellow caution tape blocks off the lawn next to the brown wood-paneled building. Piles of clothes, shoes and blankets lay on the grass next to a once-white door, completely tainted from flames and smoke. Greg Dove, of The Aspen Companies, which owns the complex, wheelbarrowed the family’s burnt belongings into a nearby dumpster.
Valentine said the Red Cross arrived at the scene, offering help to the family who is now homeless. Red Cross often assists with temporary housing, food and clothing in similar situations, he said.
The fire was completely contained to the affected apartment and no other buildings were damaged.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 9/24/2014]
The Aspen Companies’ workers Jeremy Dees, left, and Greg Dove, right, clean up damage from a fire at Majestic Oaks Apartments on Tuesday afternoon.
