Fifty residents displaced by Northeast San Antonio apartment fire

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) – At least fifty residents have been displaced by a fire that swept through part of a Northeast Side apartment complex Thursday afternoon.   Many are going through the rubble in hopes of being able to salvage some of their possessions after the two-alarm blaze at the Avistar at the Crest Apartments on Uhr Lane near Thousand Oaks.

Fire at Avistar at the Crest Apartments, Oct. 1, 2020/KTSA Photo-Elizabeth Ruiz

Woody Woodward with the San Antonio Fire Department told KTSA News 32 apartments were damaged or destroyed by the fire.

A woman who lived in a second-story apartment  told KTSA news that she heard an explosion, and when she and her little girl ran outside to see what happened, she saw her roof on fire. She ran back in to get her baby boy and they all managed to escape unharmed, but there’s not much left of her apartment or her possessions.

Judy Diaz also told KTSA News she head a blast and then saw smoke and flames. Her adult son, who is in a wheelchair, was in the shower, when the fire started, so she got him out as quickly as she could. They also managed to rescue their two dogs.

Displaced resident at Avistar at the Crest Apartments, Oct. 1, 2020/KTSA Photo-Elizabeth Ruiz

The American Red Cross is providing assistance to residents who need a place to stay.

Investigators are trying to determine how the fire started.

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