TOLEDO, Ohio — A Sunday night apartment fire at Miracle Manor in west Toledo has left 70 people without a home. Three people were also injured, including two firefighters. All three are all right according to fire officials.
"I didn't quite see the full damage of it last night because it was dark but this whole area just filled up with smoke," Jennifer Wronker, a woman living in a nearby apartment, said. "We all had to go. Everybody was out last night so it was a little emotional."
One woman living in a top-floor apartment says she only had time to get one of her cats out. To her joy, the other was found around 5 p.m. Monday evening.
A man living in another top-floor apartment said firefighters and police woke him up and told him to get out immediately, leaving his keys, wallet and essentials behind.
"It's always our goal to find the cause and do it as quickly as we can but that doesn't always happen. It takes time," Pvt. Sterling Rahe with Toledo Fire and Rescue said. "The hope is to get inside the structure, if we can do that in a safe manner, but right now there is no timetable."
Fires have hit Miracle Manor many times in the last 16 years.
In March of 2006, residents say multiple buildings were damaged. In October of 2016, dozens were evacuated for a fire. An apartment fire also killed one man in September of 2018.
Now with this fire leaving 70 people out of a home, neighbors are hoping for relief soon.
"I'm sorry is all I can say and I'll be praying for you for comfort and strength," Wronker said.
Fire officials are still trying to figure out how this happened. The American Red Cross was set up throughout the day on Monday, helping people get what they need.