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Elderly Couple killed in Houston Apartment Fire

Posted: 09-27-10Category:

UPDATE: Two bodies were found Monday in an apartment complex damaged by a fire in southwest Houston. The fire broke out at the Greenhouse Patio Apartments in the 6300 block of West Airport near Sandpiper about 4:50 a.m. today, said Assistant Chief Karen DuPont of the Houston Fire Department. The fire was extinguished about an hour later. Arson investigators were trying to determine what caused the fire. This brings the number of persons killed in Houston Apartment fires to three in just the past four days. Fire officials declined to identify the victims but said they could be the remains of an elderly man and his wife who have not been accounted for. The victims were found inside a closet of one of the charred apartments and appeared to have taken shelter there. DuPont said one firefighter was taken to Memorial Herman Hospital where he was treated for a concussion he suffered after falling down battling the blaze. He was released. Firefighters struggled to get the upper hand on the flames as they spread along the roof of one of the two-story buildings in the complex. They initially had trouble getting enough water pressure from hydrants in the area. Investigators believe the fire started on the building’s first floor before spreading to the second floor. The victims were found in their upstairs unit. Michelle Rhodes, 12, said she and her mother heard the two elderly people screaming for help from an upstairs apartment. She said her mother was banging on windows warning everyone to get out. They couldn’t get up the stairway to the victims’ apartment because the flames were blocking their way. "They were nice people," Rhodes said about the victims. "They didn’t bother anybody. They were quiet and kept to themsleves." The unit where she and her mother lived suffered some water damage. Her 10-year-old brother, Demetrice Sykes, said he often helped the couple around their apartment, carrying their groceries or taking their garbage out. "It’s sad," he said. "It shouldn’t have happened to those nice people." It seems like we've had an outbreak of apartment fires in Southwest Houston lately, where there are many old apartment complexes with aging and poorly maintained aluminum wiring, old appliances,  and smoke detectors that don't always work. One Houston Firefighter was hospitalized for heat exhaustion, and undoubtedly, several apartment residents lost everything they had. Here is the story from today's Houston Chronicle:

Firefighters battled a 2-alarm blaze at an apartment complex in southwest Houston early this morning.

The fire broke out at the Greenhouse Patio Apartments in the 6300 block of West Airport near Sandpiper about 4:50 a.m. Monday, said Assistant Chief Karen DuPont of the Houston Fire Department. The fire was extinguished about an hour later.

Firefighters struggled to get the upper hand on the flames as they spread along the roof of one of the two-story buildings in the complex. They initially had trouble getting enough water pressure from hydrants in the area.

Investigators have not determined where the fire started or what sparked the flames.

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