Elderly Residents Escape Fire

By Jessica Taloney Reporter

Fire rips through several units of a Foley apartment complex. Two elderly residents escape with only the clothes on their backs. Elderly Residents Escape Fire

Published: Fri, December 28, 2007 - 5:13 pm Last Updated: Wed, January 02, 2008 - 10:41 am

Jessica Taloney

Carrying a garbage bag and sifting through what's left of her home, Mary Lawson is thankful the inside of her apartment doesn't look as bad as the outside.
"It's just a trauma to have to go through at my age," said Lawson, who along with her 87-year-old neighbor narrowly escaped a fire that burned both of their homes early Thursday evening.
"The fire was so fast and so hot," said Lawson. "It sounded like a shot gun going off, and everytime it did flames would shoot up," she said.
Lawson believes the blaze at The Regency Apartment Homes on Green Tree Lane in Foley started in a freezer inside her neighbor's outdoor storage closet. She said paint cans inside the closet fueled the fire.
A neighbor, who was driving by and spotted the smoke, alerted Lawson. "She ran up to my door and said call 911," said Lawson. "By the time I got the call made, I had to get out. It was just that quick," she said.
Two apartments, including Lawsons, were completely destroyed and as many as four others were damaged.
The company that owns the complex says they are working to relocate the residents.
Friday, an insurance adjuster, a construction crew, and a firefighter were on the scene acessing the damage.