Over 20 people without home after Winston-Salem apartment fire

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — More than 25 people are having to find another place to stay after a fire at a Winston-Salem apartment.

No one was injured in the fire. Less than 24 hours later, people who live in the building are working to figure out a way to move on after being impacted by the fire.

Fire officials said it was a total loss after the fire significantly destroyed the apartment building in the 5100 block of Merehunt Court Sunday night.

“After speaking with the fire marshal this morning, it’s safe to say we will not know what caused it just due to the amount of damage that was caused. The fire marshal’s office is just going to rule it undetermined because so much of it was just destroyed in the fire,” Winston-Salem Fire Department Assistant Chief of Operations Andrew Gray said.

On Monday, many emotional residents who have been impacted by the fire gathered some of their belongings that may have survived.

“The fire spread real fast,” Shae Cottrell said.

Cottrell was home when the fire broke out at her apartment building in the 5100 block of Merehunt Court in Winston-Salem.

She’s one of the over two dozen people who lost their homes.

“It was no alarms that went off. No smoke detectors or anything … A neighbor came knocking on doors and stuff … I was automatically coming to the door, seeing what was going on,” Cottrell said.

The Winston-Salem Fire Department got calls about the fire around just before 7 p.m.

There were 60 firefighters who responded to the fire. The damage to the building was significant.

“The roof had fallen through, some of the floor had fallen and then some parts of the wall and back backside of the apartment ended up falling during the firefighting operation,” Gray said.

On Monday, less than 24 hours after the fire, firefighters helped residents retrieve items that could be salvaged from the burned building.

Cottrell moved into her apartment just over two months ago in July. She is worried about what’s next.

“Hopefully, Red Cross can come help us,” Cottrell said.

After fires, the WSPD will look at smoke detectors within the vicinity of the fire to ensure there are working smoke detectors in the area. This weekend, they plan to canvass the area around the 5100 block of Merehunt Court and check for the smoke detectors.

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