5 families displaced by apartment fire at Azalea Park

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Five families are being assisted by the American Red Cross after a Thursday evening fire at Azalea Park Apartments.

Around 5:58 p.m., firefighters responded to a structure fire involving eight units. Upon arrival, heavy fire and smoke were visible from the windows.

Meanwhile, in less than 24 hours, two people have died from separate structure fires in Augusta and Leesville, according to authorities.

During a 360-degree assessment of the complex, Chief Colson saw a resident attempting to jump from a second-story window, according to fire officials.

Firefighters used a ground ladder to rescue the resident, officials say.

Five families were displaced, however, the fire was extinguished without any injuries, according to officials.

Timothy Delucia, Disaster Program Manager at the Red Cross, said: “There was a sixth unit that was affected, but that person was not available, and then two units were vacant. So we met with about 16 individuals total, we were able to provide them with assistance, comfort kits, blankets, and then they will be assigned a caseworker to assist them in the recovery.”

Central EMS, Augusta Fire Department Med 4, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the fire.

Georgia Power was requested to secure the electrical service to the building. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Neighbors complaining about this complex isn’t new.

“My apartment was in so bad of order that code enforcement condemned my whole apartment. I had no choice but to get out,” said Garian Henry, a former resident who lived there in 2022.

In 2022, several more families were displaced after a fire in Building P.

Last year our I-TEAM discovered more than building being condemned.

This wasn’t the first time the Red Cross has been to this complex either.

“The fire department did bar the doors. So it’s just a dark, you know, dark building. And there were a couple of people hanging around the units, peering in the windows, trying to see if they’re able to grab anything outside of the units and, you know, talking to clients, some of them actually had to escape through their windows,” said Delucia.

The Red Cross says they responded to 76 house fires in Richmond County.

“It’s just a humbling experience, you know, to see the devastation that can happen in such a short period of time,” he said.

The Azalea Apartments told News 12 in a statement that they have newly renovated apartments to put the families in and are also taking donations for the families and their kids who lost everything.

They said they need children’s clothes and schools supplies and can be donated to the leasing office.

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