BRYAN, Texas — The Bryan Fire Department responded to an apartment fire at 31Thirty apartments on East 29th Street Tuesday morning.
Public Information Officer Chris Lamb says the department arrived to the scene minutes after receiving call around 8 a.m. regarding a structural fire.
The roof was breached with flames, reaching 12 units and displacing at least 20 residents.
"Obviously, they are temporarily displaced, and this building is not structurally safe to go back into," Lamb said.
Vonessa Williams, one of the residents displaced, says the day started off normally.
She dropped her daughter off at school and was getting ready to take her son to a specialist for diabetes until her son starting seeing smoke.
"I was in the restroom where he [husband] was at getting myself ready, well trying to at least. By the time, i walked out, it was already black smoke across the ceiling," Williams said.
She like Melissa Arredondo lost all their belongings in the fire. Some families even lost pets.
Arredondo says she only had time to grab a robe and her suitcase from a previous weekend trip.
Both residents say it was difficult watching their homes go up in flames.
"I think I already went through every emotion that I could think of," Arredondo said.
"It’s hard. It’s sad. I’ve never experienced anything like this."
Churches like Antioch Community Church opened its doors to displaced residents, allowing the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army of Bryan-College Station to help residents.
The Red Cross offered immediate financial assistance for the next 72 hours to cover the costs for hotel rooms and other needs, assigned a case worker to each family to follow up each week and pointed families to community resources.
The Salvation Army partnered with Chick-fil-A to bring the families lunch and provided water to families standing outside the complex.
Representatives from the apartment complex also showed up to offer temporary housing.
Captain Luis Villanueva from the Salvation Army says the organization always steps up to provide food and clothing to help families in need.
"We know it's going to be a long recovery for them," he says. "It's going to be a couple of weeks to find another apartment and get their things again, all their belongings."
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but no one was injured.
To help these families, you can donate money online or in-person to the Salvation Army and to the American Red Cross.