Apartment fire victim: We're lucky to be alive

FAIRFIELD — Residents of Heritage Glen Apartments displaced by a Sunday fire said they are thankful to be alive.

Ryan Kellum, 22, had just gone to bed after working third-shift at Meijer. He awoke about 1 p.m., and smelling smoke, he walked onto his balcony and saw fire trucks and firefighters.

“They had it all taped off, and water was running down the hallway,” he said. “I heard the water hitting the roof, so I threw on a shirt, socks and shoes.”

Once outside, he learned firefighters had gone up and down the halls alerting tenants to the fire, but with the air conditioner running, he didn’t hear the hallway fire alarms or the banging on the doorways.

Tabitha Kearney, a mother of three children who were being cared for in the affected building by resident Melissa Jessie, said she is thankful her children are safe.

Kearney was at work at KFC down the street when she learned about the fire. She ran from the restaurant to try to find her children. She said two firefighters stopped her and told her they couldn’t let her go any further.

“They told me they weren’t sure if anyone made it,” she said. “I stood there for what felt like forever. They started chit-chatting, so I took off running.”

Kearney was reunited soon after with her three children, ages 4, 1 and 4 months.

Kearney, who lives in a different building at the Heritage Glen complex, is now opening her home to Jessie and her family.

Jessie, who had just moved with her husband and two children into the building, lost everything inside, including medical equipment for her 6-year-old daughter who has cystic fibrosis. Even under these circumstances, she considers herself lucky.

“Everything in there can be replaced,” she said.

Investigators were on site Tuesday assessing damages and interviewing residents — 42 were displaced by the fire, including 21 adults and 21 children.

Fairfield Fire Chief Don Bennett said the fire started about noon Sunday on a third-floor balcony on the northeast corner of the building.

Hamilton Fire Deputy Chief Larry Gassert, who suffered injuries described as not life-threatening while battling the blaze, remained Tuesday at Mercy Hospital Fairfield. No other injuries were reported.

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