Man jumps from balcony with dog to escape apartment fire

By Joylyn Bukovac

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — Dozens of families in South Nashville are without a home after their apartment building when up in flames overnight.

The fire started around 10:15 p.m. at Hickory Creek Apartments on Vultee Boulevard. One neighbor credits people knocking on doors for saving their life. Witnesses said a man had to jump off his balcony with his dog to get away from the fire.

According to Nashville Fire, 25 units were affected by the blaze. So far, no injuries have been reported.

“There’s probably no way I’m going to be able to go back inside that apartment again,” Steve Burgess said after watching firefighters douse his apartment with water. “I’m just trying to find a place to stay for the night.”

“My sister had called me, and I went over there. Her apartment was engulfed in flames,” Clyde Childress said. His sister, Ciala Childress, said it seemed the fire started near her apartment unit.

“I was just chilling in my apartment, in the living room, and heard beeping in the hallway and when I’m looking in the hallway, I see people running back and forth and someone opened their door, and it was a big cloud of smoke,” Ciala Childress said. That’s when people started packing up their belongings. “Everyone just ran out of their apartment with suitcases.”

Ciala Childress said she is glad she was able to run out of her home with her dog before the flames spread.

“I had seen a few people in wheelchairs coming out and I saw a few animals on breathing machines and stuff,” Ciala Childress said.

At this time, the Nashville Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire. The American Red Cross is helping the families who are displaced.

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