RACINE -- An overnight fire wreaks havoc on an apartment building in Racine near 11th and Grand Avenue causing thousands of dollars in damage.
The Racine Fire Department said Saturday night the apartment building was fully engulfed in flames, and the flames were so intense they even melted the side of an adjacent home.
"I was very scared," Lance Moore said. "I feel bad for any of the families who were in there."
Moore lives and the area and he and his brother saw the flames. He also said he heard people yelling at someone in the building to jump to safety.
"They were telling the person to jump, but they didn't want to jump... it was crazy," Moore said.
According to the fire department, the fire started just after 8:30 PM near the porch located on the east side of a three-story apartment building.
The flames were so intense, the porch is no longer recognizable —in fact only charred remnants of what it used to remain, drawing the attention of most everyone who passes by.
“[It was] horrific, just to see how fast it went up in flames," Brian Bruce said. "The good thing is that the building is brick, but the inside, as you can see, is all torn up, but it was just horrific."
Brain Bruce lives in the area and spent Saturday night taking pictures of the fire as it destroyed most of the building.
“I was just praying that everyone was okay," he said.
And his prayers most have been answered that night because firefighters say everyone evacuated safely and no one was injured.
"Everything is [going] to be alright," Bruce said. "[They] may have lost material things, but [they] escaped with [their lives]."
The investigation is ongoing, and the Racine Fire Department confirms arson has not been ruled out.
