Apartment fire in Rocky Mount forces 23 people from homes, 8 families; 'I lost everything'

An apartment fire in Rocky Mount on Tuesday forced 25 people out of their homes. On Tuesday around 8:10 a.m., firefighters responded to a two-story apartment building at 1213 Niblick Drive, where smoke was coming from the roof. All eight apartments in the building were impacted, and all residents safely evacuated. One person suffered mild smoke inhalation but refused to be treated at the scene, crews said. It took firefighters 30 minutes to extinguish the fire. The apartment where the fire originated had extensive fire and smoke damage, but the other units in the building were also damaged. Adrianna Andrews, a young mother whose home burnt down, told WRAL News she was barely able to grab clothes for her son before having to evacuate. "My son, he only had on a shirt and no pants or socks," she said. "My initial thought was to grab him a shirt and a coat, but we only had time enough to grab him pants. No shoes, no socks. By that time, the fire department was like, you need to evacuate." Andrews told WRAL News she saw smoke Tuesday morning, describing, "I got up to see what it was. By the time I was coming down the stairs, my fiancé was coming up the stairs to tell me that there was a fire. We went to open our neighbor’s door and there was a gush of black and gray smoke coming out ... five minutes later, the fire spread through the whole cul-de-sac." According to Andrews, her entire apartment unrecognizable, including her home office. "The walls are black," she said. "I can't even recognize my bathroom. And I had two monitors, I had computer equipment all over a desk. It’s all ashes." “I never, ever, ever dreamed or imagined that I would lose everything," she said. "But you know you have to cherish the things that you have today, because in a blink of an eye it could all be taken away from you." City of Rocky Mount Transit buses were used to keep the 25 impacted residents warm until the Red Cross arrived to provide assistance. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Andrews is asking the community for prayers, adding any donations would be appreciated. "We just want help. There were a lot of kids that live here," she said. "We would appreciate anything that anybody can give." Subscribe to WRAL:    / wral5   Follow WRAL: Facebook:   / wraltv   Twitter:   / wral   IG:   / wral   About WRAL-TV: WRAL is your Raleigh, North Carolina news source. Check out our videos for the latest news in Raleigh, local sports, Raleigh weather, and more at https://WRAL.com #localnews #northcarolina