AMHERST — Firefighters evacuated tenants at the Ann Whalen Apartments on Friday afternoon after a fire broke out in a third-floor apartment.
Fire Chief Tim Nelson said his investigators were still determining the cause of the blaze in the rear of the building, and that there was significant damage to one apartment.
“There was no one harmed,” he said at the scene. “We’re trying to track down the occupant now.”
Nelson said the call came into his department at 2:24 p.m., and that firefighters evacuated the entire building soon after. Officials were checking every floor at around 3 p.m. as a precaution before letting residents back into the complex.
One of the residents evacuated was Frances Soto, who lives on the building’s fifth floor.
“When you’re like this, it’s like, ‘Who is going to help you up?’” she said, gesturing to her walker. Soto said she is still recovering from strokes, and would have had difficulty leaving the building if her grandson had not been there to help. “Thank God he was here.”
Resident Todd Von Daniken said he saw a heat plume out the window of his fifth-story unit directly above the burning apartment.
“I came downstairs and told the office staff,” he said. “I’m glad I did what I did.”
A crowd of residents cheered when informed that they could safely return to their homes shortly after 3 p.m.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.