Apartment burned badly by roof fire | Local
The roof of an apartment complex in Rapid City partially collapsed after it caught fire Saturday evening, forcing dozens of people to evacuate and seek lodging.
Oliver White, public information officer for the Rapid City Fire Department, said the call for the fire came in at about 7 p.m. after the rooftop of one of the Stoney Creek Highlands Apartments was ablaze. At least one resident was transported to the hospital in an ambulance. None of the firefighters were injured.
He said it was too early to officially confirm the cause of the fire, but many of the apartment's residents, and people who live in other buildings, said the fire started when a lightning bolt struck the roof.
"I just heard a big boom and then a lot of sirens," said Steve Otto, who lives a few apartments away.
Erica Lafferty, who lives on the first floor of the complex with her husband and daughter, said she heard a loud boom and could feel the apartment shake. She didn't think anything of it at first, but then she smelled the smoke and heard a neighbor banging on her door.
"One of our neighbors ran around the building telling people the place was on fire," she said. "We were just sitting there and all of a sudden we heard this knocking on our doors."
She said the escape was a harrowing experience. By the time Lafferty and her family reached the exit door, there were already flaming pieces of siding falling down in front of the doorway.
"Chunks of the siding were coming down right in front of us," Lafferty said.
Smoke from the rooftop could be seen from more than half a mile away. Firefighters had to use 100-foot extension ladders to get hoses up to spray water and try and contain the flames.
White called the damage to the apartment "significant." He said at least eight units were uninhabitable as of 8:30 p.m. He estimated that the number will be much higher because of how much fire, smoke and water damage the apartment sustained.
"There is ton of water being used to put out the fire," White said. "Because it's an apartment fire, it's really easy for a fire to spread into an isolated area. We want to make sure the fire is entirely out."
Jannica Daniell, a second floor resident, said she was asleep when everything happened.
"I was taking a nap, I woke up when I heard the lightning strike," she said. "I checked out on the balcony and saw debris falling and I smelled smoke."
Daniell said she was also alerted by a neighbor that the building had caught on fire. She helped a fellow resident get pets out out of the building before evacuating.
Firefighters were unable to enter the building 90 minutes after the fire was called in because much of the structure was charred and collapsing.
White said numerous units were called in to help battle the fire and support the displaced residents, including the Red Cross, Pennington County Search and Rescue, Whispering Pines Fire Station, the Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department, the Rapid Valley Volunteer Fire Department, the Rapid City Police Department and the Pennington County Sheriff's Office.
The Red Cross and the RCFD are working with residents to recover some personal items, White said.
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