The fire broke out around 1:30 Sunday morning at the Lynn Haven Apartments on Wadesboro Road.
No one was injured.
The American Red Cross is helping the 15 people who were forced to leave their apartments.
I would have never dreamed of this happening on New Year's Eve," said one of the victims, Rebecca Mayhue. She sat on a hotel bed, with just several hangers of clothes near by. That was all she had time to grab as she fled her apartment.
Families living in the Lynn Haven apartment building likely will never forget the start of 2001.
When the fire gutted eight apartments it took away homes, clothing -- even Christmas presents went up in flames.
Mayhue was the first person to smell smoke and call 911.
"I know it was God who woke me up because, really, I could have slept through the whole thing," she said.
Neighbors spent the day salvaging whatever they could.
There is no word on a cause.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
