COLUMBUS, Ohio — Four families are displaced after a fire at an apartment building on Saturday evening near Dublin.
The Columbus Division of Fire responded to Saltergate Village around 4:30 p.m. on a report of a fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but the four units in the building have been destroyed. The roof is gone and from the outside of the building and it appears many of the residents’ belongings have been ruined.
Lyndsay Kincaid lives next door. Her son ran inside to tell her he heard what sounded like gunshots. The two of them ran next door to knock on their neighbor's doors.
“I start banging on the door, I am banging on this end unit, I knew both of them were home because they both had vehicles here. I am like there Is no way I am gonna leave until they are out,” Kincaid said. “I was shocked. I have never watched a fire from start to finish before. You see bits and pieces and it is heartbreaking, heartbreaking.”
One of the homes belongs to her son Tysen’s friend.
“All of it was destroyed,” he said.
Through the destruction, an untouched soccer ball in his friend’s apartment caught Tysen’s eye. He asked firefighters to get it so he could give it to his friend.
“He will probably be excited and happy that was the last thing that survived there,” said the 8-year-old.
Firefighters were also able to rescue a cat from the building.
The American Red Cross is assisting the families, and neighbors are brainstorming other ways to help.
“It is just sad,” Kincaid said.
The fire department expects to share an update on Monday.