Emergency personnel responded to a fire at Campus Trails apartments about a mile from Mississippi State University’s campus Sunday morning. The fire burned buildings A and B of the complex. No injuries were reported, but approximately 72 residents have been displaced.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing smoke around 10:20 a.m. followed by flames originating from the attic area above building A’s third floor.
Greg Ball, chief of the East Oktibbeha Volunteer Fire Department, said the cause and exact origin of the fire has not yet been determined.
“We’re still under investigation on that [the cause and origin],” he said. “We have an area of origin that we’re looking at pretty closely.” Ball said the state fire marshal was on the scene Sunday and Monday, and would be the one making the final decisions.
“Hopefully this week we’ll have it [cause and origin],” he said. “The state fire marshal will be coming in and making that decision.”
It is evident that the fire started at the top of building A because the fire burned from top to bottom, Ball said.
Ball said the first call about the fire reportedly came from neighbors in buildings C and D who saw smoke.
“Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department was the first on the scene,” he said. “They started evacuating the A and B buildings as fast as they could.”
Derek Baas, Jeff Jones and Brian Reid, all junior industrial engineering majors who live together in building M at Campus Trails, said they saw smoke coming from building A before leaving for church.
Reid said he saw smoke around 10:15 a.m. and immediately told Baas and Jones. He said the smoke was coming from building A’s third floor and attic area in the corner closest to complex’s pool.
Jones said the three went to building A where he saw a man on the phone with emergency responders, but the man did not appear to be a Campus Trails resident. Jones said the man handed him the phone so he could tell the dispatcher where the fire was.
“I walked over, saw a guy on the phone … I told 911 where to come,” Jones said.
Baas said he, Jones and Reid ran into building A and started knocking on doors telling residents to get out.
“There was stuff falling from the roof when we were up there,” he said.
Baas said the sheriff’s department was on the scene within five minutes of his phone call, and fire trucks arrived within 10 minutes.
“By the time the firefighters got here, there were flames coming out,” Jones said. “Up until they got here, it [seemed to be] just smoke.”
Aided by the wind, the fire spread through the attic system of both buildings, Ball said.
“The wind carried it pretty far first off the bat,” he said. “When the wind changed on us, we were really worried about the other buildings.”
Ball said both buildings are a total loss, with varying degrees of fire, smoke and water damage on all three floors of both buildings. Volunteers stayed at the scene throughout the night to monitor the buildings and used water on several hot spots, he said.
Kirk Rosenhan, Oktibbeha County Fire Services Coordinator, said firefighters went into apartments on Monday to retrieve valuables and other personal belongings for residents. He said the buildings were too dangerous for residents to enter.
“Even in the apartments that were not damaged by fire, they have water damage,” Rosenhan said. “It [water] comes down and soaks in the insulation, gets trapped, makes the sheetrock wet and falls down.”
Rosenhan said personnel were posted Monday night to keep anyone from entering the buildings or stealing items.
MSU Police Chief Georgia Lindley said on Sunday that Campus Trails management was working to move affected residents into empty apartments within the complex.
Campus Trails management referred all questions to its corporate office, American Campus Communities. Dan Shoepe, vice president of management services, said residents have been provided with a temporary housing option at a local hotel.
“We are identifying multiple housing options for the affected residents to choose from to solve their longer-term needs,” he said. “These options may include accommodations at local apartment complexes or university housing.”
Campus Trails management worked quickly to evacuate all residents of buildings A and B during the fire, Shoepe said.
“All affected residents were immediately evacuated and a census was taken to account for all occupants of the buildings,” he said.
Shoepe said the management thanks all who responded to the fire and those helping with relief efforts.
“Our main concern is the well-being of our residents,” he said. “We have moved quickly to address their needs and would like to thank the fire department, Red Cross and the university for all of their hard work and support.”
Senior international business major Jeremy Snowden, a resident of building A, said his roommate contacted him about the fire. Snowden said he was in Columbus attending church, but one of his roommates was home.
“When we were informed of it via text message, we were 30 minutes away,” he said. “It was surreal, not knowing what was going to await us when we got back.”
Building A resident Leah Belk, a sophomore English major, said she was out of town when the fire hit, but two of her roommates were in the building when the fire started.
“One of my roommates went outside to get something from her car and saw a bunch of smoke – she went in and got my other roommate,” she said. “They just tried to grab their computers and get out. Once they were out of the building, the police didn’t let them back in.”
After arriving back at Campus Trails, Belk said she was shocked by the loss, but was glad to hear that everyone was safe.
“I’m just really glad my roommates are OK and no one was hurt,” she said. “It’s just stuff.”
Belk said the Oktibbeha County Red Cross Chapter gave each victim a $180 gift card to purchase food and clothes, and Campus Trails management put residents up in hotel rooms.
“The community in Starkville has just been so ready for action; even the university has been really helpful, the dean of students has been so nice and wants us to come and talk to him, wants to help even with long-term things we need,” she said. “I’m just really grateful to be in the community of Starkville.”
Ball said the large of amount of responders at the scene provided vital help. Volunteer fire departments, including East Oktibbeha, Bell Schoolhouse, District 5/ Oktoc, Central Oktibbeha and Maben responded to the fire. The Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department, Starkville Fire Department and MSU Police Department also provided assistance.
“Everybody came together for the students,” Ball said.
Rosenhan said he was thankful for how not only the firefighters, but all emergency personnel, handled the situation.
“We did what needed to be done. I’m very happy with the cooperation with all the various agencies,” he said. “We’re all in it together.”
Editor’s Note: Aubra Whitten is a resident of Campus Trails.