ARCHDALE, N.C. — More than 20 people have been forced out of their homes after a destructive fire at a condo complex in Archdale on Sunday.
Six homes were destroyed at West Brook Condominiums. Everything from furniture to clothes to appliances — all gone.
However, the silver lining here — everyone got out safe.
“I smelled something like something is burning," said Umar Khan, a resident whose home was destroyed.
A native of Pakistan, Khan said he knew something wasn’t right. When he took a look outside his bedroom window, he could see smoke starting to build.
Khan immediately jumped into action, getting himself and his family to safety along with his neighbors.
“I kept kicking on the door and I woke them up," Khan said. "I took them out, everyone. My neighbor, she has got like four kids and a mom and dad. So I took all of them out and we were outside there.”
A few units down, neighbor Amy Reid says she saw it all happen. Her mother’s condo was just feet away from the devastation.
“I saw some smoke and I thought it was, I thought my windows were dirty but then I looked outside and saw my mom's building on fire and kind of got panicky. So I got my phone and called 9-1-1,” said Reid.
The Guil-Rand Fire Department and High Point Fire said it took hours to get the fire under control.
Now, a day later, Khan shareed an inside look at the damage inside his home.
Everything was unrecognizable. But a charred dresser protects a book — untouched by the flames.
“That’s the holy book...the Quran," Khan said.
Khan says while everything other than his Quran may be gone, he’s grateful lives were saved.
“I really feel bad, but I feel good on this. I saved my family and I have another family and thank God we are sad and stuff we'll get, we'll get some more, but we are safe," said Khan.
Right now, the fire remains under investigation. The Red Cross is assisting affected families with food and hotels.
Each unit was privately owned.
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