HFD: Two-alarm apartment complex fire that injured firefighter downtown Houston ruled arson

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Detectives at the Houston Fire Department say a two-alarm blaze that gutted a north Houston apartment complex early Friday morning was intentionally set by someone.

The raging fire was captured on home video. Flames shot high into the air as firefighters worked frantically put out the blaze at the complex on Flecher at Carl. No one was hurt but several units were damaged.

"It was 20 feet up in the air when I saw it and it went out of control," said Alfonso Salazar, who lives nearby and shot the video he sent to us through our iWitness reports.

We were there as firefighters rushed into the apartment complex at about 5am. They were already in the area responding to several trash fires.

"They were busy with these trash fires when somebody came running up and said there's a house on fire," said Joe Evans with the Houston Fire Department.

The flames were so high and the smoke so thick that one firefighter had to be wheeled out on a stretcher.

"Houston arson division will be talking to all of the people and interviewing everybody within the three-block area," said Evans.

He says the fire started on the front porch and quickly spread to attic and nine apartment units. Residents inside worked together to get out in time.

Tanea Perez woke up her mom and sisters.

"My mom and my sisters, they went out because it was like a fire," she said.

And even though they're happy to be alive, many residents wonder where they'll go from here.

"Where am i going to go? I'm going to have to get another place," said resident James Torres. "I've been laid off from work."

Right now, authorities have not identified any suspects.

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Two-alarm fire breaks out at apartment complex in NW Harris County

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A ruptured gas line helped fuel an apartment fire. And while authorities think they know where the fire started, they are still trying to figure out how it ignited.

The fire broke out around 3:15am at the Camden Station apartments on Antoine near Veterans Memorial.

The fire is out and while no one was hurt, several families were displaced.

Flames were already jumping 20 to 30 feet in the air when firefighters arrived. One resident, who was too shaken to appear on camera, could only watch as his home was destroyed by flames.

"We couldn't get nothing from the apartment. We ran away," said the resident.

"You barely got out?" we asked.

"Yes, we're safe, thank God," he said.

He had only moments to leave, telling us he shot some cell video just minutes after escaping danger.

"The police, the fire department, too, they kicked the door out and they tried to tell us to get out of the apartments, but after 10 minutes, everything caught on fire," said the resident.

Officials say the fire appears to have started in the laundry room. Both that room and a gas meter were on fire when they arrived. The fire then jumped to the apartment units.

Resident Mark Frederick says he put his children's school clothes in the wash and came back just 20 minutes later to find trouble.

"We weren't really thinking until we saw all of the fire trucks and the first thing I thought about was my kids' school clothes burning," Frederick said.

No one was seriously injured, and that's all some residents have left to focus on.

"Everybody's OK. Thank God nothing happened to anybody else," said a resident.

At least four units were destroyed. The rest of the units in that building suffered water and smoke damage.

At least one firefighter suffered heat exhaustion and was treated at the scene.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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